Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Two aides of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) along with over 5,000 others at a rally in Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area of the state.
The aides were Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Community Development, Mr. Lucky Arumare who doubles as chairman, Emede Community Union, and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Mobilisation, Mrs. Uyoyou Edhekpo.
The duo announced their defections at the rally where a former chairman of the state board of internal revenue, Mr. Joel-Onowakpo Thomas formally declared to contest the House of Representatives seat for Isoko constituency on the platform of APC.
Addressing the mammoth crowd, chairman of APC in the state, Jones Erue, boasted that the incumbent governor Okowa of the PDP would be shown the exit door in next year’s election.
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Governor Okowa is seeking a second term in office in the forthcoming election.
But Erue said the time is up for the Okowa, claiming that Deltans have made up their minds to send the PDP packing for bringing untold hardship and under-development to the oil rich state since 1999.
Erue described the Okowa administration as the ‘worst thing that has ever happened to Deltans since the creation of the state’, insisting that the incumbent governor will be roundly defeated in 2019.
In the words of Erue, “Governor Okowa will be shown the way out from the Government House by Deltans because the people have concluded to enthrone an APC government come 2019 in Delta State. PDP has nothing to offer Deltans anymore. Deltans are tired and have rejected the PDP-led government of Okowa.
“With the mammoth crowd I see here today, its a work over for APC in Isoko and Government House come 2019. Joel-Onowakpo Thomas has come to liberate the good people of Isoko Federal Constituency from the 16 years of slavery in the hands of PDP. We must all give our full supports to Joel Onowakpo for a total freedom,” Erue said.
The House of Representatives aspirant, Onowakpor told the crowd that his mission to the National Assembly is to totally emancipate Isoko nation, which he claimed, has been enslaved for 16 years.
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Onowakpo noted that he has an abiding faith in the good people of Isoko, that they will choose right come February 2019 general election, saying that “God willing we shall prevail.”
According to the coordinator of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), for Edo, Delta and Rivers states, “My fellow Isoko people fear not because the head of the snake has been cut off and only struggling to survive. Give me your support and Isoko will never remain again in this slavery and hardship. The uninformed will hardly know that I have been involved in the political engineering of this nation since the days of Action for Democracy (AD).
“In my avowed determination to continue to contribute my quota of national development, I joined the PDP where I played active roles in building the party to enviable height culminating into my appointment as chairman of the Board of Interval Revenue, Delta State, before I finally decided to call it quits with PDP when all my entreaties against the misrule of the state and my beloved Isoko nation fell on deaf ears.
“My achievements during the time are manifest even to my critics, (if any). In their quiet moment, they will give me an A+. This performance I dare say was what President Muhammadu Buhari saw and appointed me the revenue coordinator for five states.
“Therefore the declaration I am making today as a formal member of the APC is a reaffirmation of my resolve to stand against all forms of impunity that has severally manifested by the present administration.”
