Delta APC in Double Tragedy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state was yet to recovered from the defeat it suffered in the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state during the presidential, national assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections when a fresh crisis befell the party again.

The initial crisis was as a result of two party chairmen – Prophet Jones Ode-Erue and Chief Cyril Ogodo, laying claim to the soul of the party in the state.

The crisis was unresolved and lingered into the electioneering campaigns that saw to the party’s woeful outing during the conduct of the general elections.

The Coalition of Delta APC Support Groups in the South-South geo-political zone has come with a new twist to the crisis, thereby blaming the National Working Committee (NWC) of the the political party over the defeat the it suffered during the contest.

The coalition, which is the umbrella body of the South-South zone support groups for the party lamented that the 2019 governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Chief Great Ogboru, was defeated by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa because the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, took a destructive decision.

Also, the coalition attacked Ogboru for embarking on self-serving and open hostility which led to a call on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC to probe the 2019 governorship candidate of the party in the state, Chief Ogboru, for misappropriating the chance to unseat Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

The coalition, which is the umbrella body of the South-South zone support groups, including the Buhari Support Group (BSO) and the Niger Delta Consolidated Forum (NDCF) for President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection, were saddened that Ogboru’s in-fighting gave Okowa the upper hand in the contest.

They said it was the political misadventure, self-serving and open hostility of Ogboru after defecting with Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from Labour Party (LP), to hijack the party structure and the destructive decision of the National Chairman, Comrade Oshiomole, that made APC to record failure.

The Coordinator of the coalition, Prince Daniel Ekiugbo, supported by the his counterpart in NDCF, Peter Edo, a.k.a Fireman, and the President of Nollywood in the Niger Delta, Dr. Jonathan Ganagana, said Ogboru suffered woeful defeat because he mismanaged the N3 billion he received from the party’s high command to prosecute the election.

He said, “we consider it a notorious fraud for Great Ogboru to waste the 2019 APC gubernatorial ticket in such questionable and shameful circumstances where the party won a paltry to local government areas, out of 25, with an alarming figure of 215,938 against PDP’s 925,274.”

The coalition lamented that Ogboru did not campaign vigorously to win as he had no billboards and posters across Delta North and South Senatorial Districts of the state but held combined rallies of three councils in a day instead of one per day.

The coalition threatened to drag Ogboru before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if the NWC fails to set up a probe panel to immediately review the outcome of the party’s overall performance in the governorship race and the misadventure of it flag-bearer.

The probe was yet to be conducted when the Federal High Court in Asaba, the state capital waged its sledged-hammer on the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party in the state.

Affected is state chairman, Prophet Jones Erue-led faction, whose primary election produced the 2019 governorship candidate of the party, Ogboru.

In a two-hour judgment delivered by Justice Toyin Adegoke, the ward and local government executives of the party under Erue were dissolved.

The judgement upheld the faction of Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, led by Chief Cyril Ogodo as the authentic chairman of the party in the state.

The National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole swiftly inaugurated Erue’s faction after his predecessor, Chief Odigie Oyegun, had initially sworn-in Ogodo faction.
Thereafter, Ogodo’s faction raced to court to seek redress at all cost.
In suit No. FA/ASA/CS/76/2018, the complainants, who sought 13 reliefs, among which is a declaration that the Ogodo-led executive committee is the authentic state executive of the party, prayed the court to declare as null, void and of no effect any and every action purportedly taken, initiated or carried out by Jones Erue.

Also, the complainants asked the court to declare the candidates that emerged from the primaries conducted by the Ogodo-led executive as the authentic list of candidates for the 2019 general elections.

On Monday, this week, the court delivered its judgement, which further polarised the party as the judgement inflicted untold hardship on the candidature of the re-election of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege representing Delta central, the election of a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Francis Waive and the election of three members of the state House of Assembly, as well as those of the Delta South senatorial ambition of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta North senatorial of Hon. Doris Uboh among others, having emerged from the primaries conducted by the Erue-led state executives.

Also affected was the nomination of Ogboru as the governorship candidate of the party.

An APC governorship contender in the state, Prof. Pat Utomi, after the judgement maintained that he remains the authentic governorship candidate of the party.

Now that the party is in fortresses of crisis, who will lead it to conquer the in-fighting, internal wrangling, acrimony, bickering, back-slapping and back-biting rocking it?