From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Delta Central has described as misguided the endorsement of David Edevbie by the leadership of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) as the preferred governorship candidate of Urhobo nation.
The UPU leadership, with Moses Taiga as president general, had at the weekend, endorsed Edevbie of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as preferred candidate.
But ALGON in Delta Central (Urhobo nation) is not comfortable with the development, and has asked the UPU to backtrack and rescind the decision to adopt Edevbie as the preferred Urhobo candidate ahead of the PDP primary in the interest of unity and love in Urhobo land and the entire state.
Addressing a press conference, Chairman of Ughelli South Local Government Area, Richard Kofi, said the primary duty of UPU was to promote the culture and tradition Urhobo.
Kofi, who on behalf of seven other council chairmen, said the role of UPU as a socio-cultural group should be to make deliberate effort to unite its political class.
“Without priding ourselves, local government chairmen, who are the key political stakeholders, especially at the grassroots, which is the basic foundation of any political endeavour, were not consulted or carried along.
“If we, as local government chairmen, were carried along in this decision, we would have offered our candid advice and perhaps avert this adoption of one aspirant among other qualified sons of Urhobo nation.
“We have been following the political development in Delta State from 1999 till date, and in the build up to the forthcoming 2023 general election with keen interest.
“We are not happy with the decision of the UPU, the apex socio-cultural body of Urhobo people to adopt any aspirant as the preferred candidate of the Urhobo ethnic nationality whereas we have other Urhobo sons also contesting the governorship election in Delta State.
“Wisdom would have thought us from history that the UPU coming out to adopt one aspirant as its candidate against others have never ended well and, therefore, should be discouraged in its entirety.
“The founding fathers of UPU did not form the union as a political party, or as an extension of a political party nor a political pressure group. Therefore, is abnormal for the body to come to the political field or gallery to poke nose let alone adopting an aspirant.”