Nigeria Content Online

The Delta State
chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has told the
gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) in the
just concluded general election in the state, Great Ogboru, to
challenge the outcome of the polls won by the incumbent governor,
Emmanuel Uduaghan, if he is dissatisfied with the result.

Chairman of the PDP
in Delta State, Peter Nwoboshi told newsmen at the Benin Airport over
the weekend that the victory of the incumbent governor was a clear
testimony of the wish and will of the electorate.

“This is the fourth
time that PDP has defeated Ogboru, not the third time and I think it is
a clear statement to him that he is not wanted by the people of Delta
state,” Mr Nwoboshi said.

He challenged Mr
Ogboru and all others who are opposed to the Independent National
Electoral Commission’s (INEC) announcement of Mr Uduaghan as governor
to prepare their legal arsenal and meet the party in court. Mr Nwoboshi
added that the PDP was not afraid of any of its opponents.

“I think twice
beaten, twice shy. But this one is not twice beaten. This is four times
beaten, four times shy,” the party chairman said. “PDP is rooted in the
state and whatever you are having represents the wish of the people and
the will of the people. Ogboru has tested his might four times and he
had lost four times. So it is the acceptability of PDP in Delta state
that is in place.”

Nothing to fear

On the criticism
trailing the gubernatorial election, which some opposition politicians
said were rigged, Mr Nwoboshi said it was a case of a bad workman
blaming his tools.

“Politics is a
profession. You have to be grounded in it. You have to learn the
intricacies of politics,” he said. “In every election, these people are
bound to be quarreling with their tools that this person rigged, this
person did not rig. These are people who are not strong.”

Mr Nwoboshi also
condemned militants in the Niger-Delta region who threatened to disrupt
oil installations because of what they viewed as the imposition of Mr
Uduaghan on the people of the state. He said majority of the militants
in the Niger-Delta are with the state government, same as the ordinary
residents of the state.

“We are all
Deltans. Nobody was brought from outside, so nobody is afraid of the
other person,” he said. “There is no cause for alarm.”

The senator elect
for the Delta North senatorial district, Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa,
attributed the secret of the PDP’s victory in the state to hard work
and an ability to reach out to the people.

“We have worked
very hard, reaching out to the people during the elections and the
campaigns. Our opponents usually run,” he said.

Mr Okowa urged those who lost in the polls to take it as “the way God wants it”.

“We thank Deltans
for what they are doing. We hope that as they have chosen us, we will
continue to do our best to meet their yearning and we hope that we are
able to develop our state and leave a better state for us all,” Mr
Okowa said.