Delta State Government through Charles Aniagwu, commissioner for information, on Thursday, carpeted Kenneth Pela, the labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the state, saying the latter “is an opportunist who is taking advantage of Peter Obi’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.”
“This man is simply being an opportunist, seeing Peter Obi’s victory and all of a sudden wake up from his dream and jumped into the (LP),” he further said.
Aniagwu stated this at a media briefing in Asaba while disclosing that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state was sure of victory in March 18 governorship and state House of Assembly election.
Pela may have incurred the PDP’s anger when he participated in Arise TV Delta Guber Debate where he criticised the Okowa-led administration and promised that LP (whose members are popularly known as the Obidients) would do better than the PDP if voted into power in this Saturday’s guber and state assembly election.
Aniagwu, who had cited reasons why PDP’s Sheriff Oborevwori did not participate in the debate, said the incumbent Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly was still the best among the guber candidates in the race and would provide more of the good governance the citizens are yearning for.
“Don’t forget that there is a clear difference between the obidients movement (OM) and the LP. The LP has been in existence long before the OM. The OM is following Obi; Obi now entered into the LP and was massively voted to victory in the last election.
“So, even if Obi had stepped into the YPP, the OM would have followed him into the YPP. The victory you saw is Obi’s victory and not for LP. It was Obi ‘s victory that LP is taking advantage of. Obi now challenging the outcome of that election. Even majority of the LP members do not know who is their national chairman,” he said.
Aniagwu also came hard on other guber aspirants who berated the Okowa administration during the debate.
He said that apart from Ovie Omo-Agege of APC and Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that managed to campaign ahead of the guber and state assembly election, none of the political parties campaigned even as he mocked them of not having a campaign billboard in strategic places of the state.
“Before the February 25, did you see any publication on the LP guber candidate?” Aniagwu queried. “Did he engage in any media briefing? He is simply an opportunist,” Aniagwu alleged.
While condemning the political opponents for kicking against Sheriff Oborevwori’s candidacy on the grounds of maladministration by Okowa”s administration, he said all the programmes they claimed to have for Deltans if elected governor, were the programmes already being run by the incumbent administration in the state.
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“They can only choose to improve on the programmes and policies rather than saying Okowa/Oborevwori has nothing to showcase as achievement for seven years and ten months of governing the state,” he said.
Investigations revealed that though Governor Okowa has tried to impact the lives of the people of the state positively, the infighting within the PDP (state and national), his being Atiku’s running mate in the presidential election and the fact that citizens of the state and country desire new leadership aside those of APC and PDP largely contribute to the choice of LP by the electorate.
Though Aniagwu has described the oppositions as propagandists and liars, he said ,”because we have seen the speed with which they are coming against us, we have also increased the velocity to counter them, one of which is reaching out more to the citizens and do more for them.
He appealed to Deltans to vote Oborevwori as the candidate with the MORE to continue from where Governor Okowa stopped.
