DTHA: Without Free, Fair, Credible Primaries, There Will Be Mass Defection From PDP In Ethiope East —Akpowowo

-Says He Would Bring Government Closer To The People, Focus On Human And Infrastructural Development If Elected

Okakuro Barr. Arthur Akpowowo, SA to Delta State Governor on Waterways and Land Security Committee.

Okakuro Barr. Arthur Akpowowo, is the SA to Delta State Governor on Waterways and Land Security Committee. In this interview, he talked about the motive behind his decision to vie for the Delta State House of Assembly seat to represent the people of Ethiope East Local Government Area, as he pinpointed human capital and infrastructural development as two key areas he would pay serious attention to if his ambition sails through. While expressing optimism that he would get the Peoples Democratic Party ticket, he predicted that failure to organize a free, fair and credible primaries portends great danger for the party in the area that would result to mass defection from the party in the council area.
Read more…

Why are you vying to represent the people of Ethiope East constituency in the Delta House of Assembly?
Every human being is supposed to have ambition and a man without one is dead. I want to serve my people. I have a passionate zeal to represent my people in the Delta State House of Assembly. I also know their pains, yearnings and aspirations. Remember, I am one of them and also live amongst them. I come from Eku and had my secondary school here too. I have always lived here. I only went to the University of Benin to do a degree programme and all the time, I always came back here to spend my holidays. Also, as a trained lawyer, I am most qualified for this job since the business of lawmaking has to do with legislative drafting. Legislative drafting is one of the courses we did in Law school. So, I know the legislation that will help to galvanize their lives and their communities.
I feel very strongly that I should represent my people. I did not just start this pursuit to represent my people today. In 2010, I resigned as the state youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to contest for the State House of Assembly primaries in 2010. When the primaries went the way it did then, and did not follow due process, I was called back to my office as state youth leader. In 2011, I also vied to represent PDP where I became the candidate, but the election was rigged beyond comprehension in Wards 1 and 2 of Abraka because of the massive influence of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru. In Ward 1, Labour Party polled 7, 687 votes and in Ward 2, they got over 4, 000 additional votes. From those two wards, they were able to rig 12, 000 votes for Ogboru and the party’s candidate for the House of Assembly and the rest is history. Students were out of town then and we should not have had such massive votes. You will recall during election, the university was closed by the government. Mind you, Abraka Ward 1 then which is the Urban, had a population of about of 3, 000 voters and 60 percent of these were students who were not in town. I won the majority of lawful votes cast then. These things are verifiable. I actually got my information from INEC office that I was in clear lead during the election. But, 12, 000 votes were returned to the LP candidate to scuttle my ambition. I relied on the card reader when we went to the tribunal to expose them. We actually succeeded at Isiokolo where the card readers were considered as needed during elections. We got the information about the card reader from INEC computer section and I was optimistic about victory in court. At the tribunal, we relied on the voters’ card information. But, a judgement by the Lagos State Election Tribunal in the case between Akinwunmi Ambode of APC and Jimi Agbaje of PDP held that the card reader was strange to the law and that was how I lost my case afterwards because I was also relying on the card reader to sail through. So, despite this entire rough ride in pursuit of my ambition, I will say I still have the zeal to serve my people. That is why I am in the race now and that zeal is still very strong.
If given a chance, what difference would your representation make?
I have been committed to developing people and communities in my own little way and this is what I will continue to do if given a chance. I hope you saw the road construction work ongoing on your way to my place? That project was influenced by me through the NDDC. If I get there, I want to see my people empowered and pay close attention to human capital and infrastructural development in the area. If given the chance to be the lawmaker representing this area, I also would make government closer to the people. As we see today, how can you be collecting constituency office monies and not have a constituency office? As a lawmaker, you should have an office in the area where they can easily assess you freely. If they cannot access you freely, then you have automatically made government look far from the people and look like something that is an enigma. You can see that my gate is opened 24 hours. I know you walked through without being prohibited. A lawmaker should not make government look mysterious. I promise to make government reachable and thus ordinary to the people I represent. This way the people will have belief in government and have trust in you. If they don’t trust you, no matter what you give them, be it cars, money or food, they will not see anything good in what you are doing. So, I will build that trust in them for government.
A member of your party presently occupies that position. Some think your decision to contest for this position shows that you are not satisfied with his representation of the people in the area. Is that true?
Yes, I am not satisfied! As at 2015 by INEC data, we had 98, 000 registered voters. But, with this continuous voters’ registration now, we would have exceeded over 100, 000 voting strength in this constituency and a lot of these persons are not satisfied with his representation. I am a grassroot person. I have served as youth leader of the party in this ward, also as a youth leader in the local government before I became state youth leader in the party. I can tell you that not everyone in PDP is a foundation member. Evance Ivwurie came to the PDP in 2003 apparently boasting that he was going to bring down somebody in Abraka and the rest is history. People died and houses were burnt. With all due respect, with that rascality he was appointed the State Coordinator, National Poverty Eradication Programme, NAPEP, in 2003 by His Excellency, James Onanefe Ibori. I think he held this position for over 3 years. Before the election in 2007, he was made Commissioner for Special Duties. Also, when Uduaghan came in, he was made Special Adviser on Local Government Affairs. So he served for eight years. Immediately he came into PDP, he benefitted instantly and still decamped from the party in 2010 just because he did not get the party ticket for the House of Assembly. That year he went to Democratic Peoples Party, DPP. He was there from 2010 to 2015 when he then won under the platform of Labour Party. So, he is not a member of PDP per say. He is one of those who fought against PDP and branded the party all sorts of names. He called the party leaders hawks and scavengers. He even referred to Emeyese, the DTHA member then, as an ongoing project member of the house. We lost the governorship election here that time as a result of the popularity of Ogboru and not Evance Ivwurie in Abraka. I say it on record because by 2019, you will discover that Ogboru owns the majority of votes in Abraka so that you can compare and contrast. So, he won on the platform of Labour Party and he just returned to the party in 2017 after 7 or 8 years in opposition despite gaining so much from the PDP. PDP people do not see him as one of them. That is the truth. You can go to the streets and find out. They see him as a betrayer who gained so much for 8 years between 2003 and 2011 and left the party when he did not get what he wanted. That same year he left, the ticket was given to Faith Majemite instead of me. I did not leave the party. But, he left. We had to stay to build the party and work for the party in 2015. It is not a good idea to cross over to another party when you do not get what you want. What of the gains you have enjoyed under the party before you were denied what you want? Even if I don’t get what I want, I must continue to work for others that got it. After coming back to the party, he has not shown responsibility and his representation is below bar. By my personal assessment of Ivwurie, I suggest that he should be a one term member of the Delta State House of Asssembly.
You sound like he is totally ruled out from getting the party ticket for his second term.
No! What we are emphasizing is that the people should decide our fate. The party has a constitution and there are stated rules and guidelines for the conduct of primaries. I have been insisting that there should be primaries because experience in the pasts show that Ethiope East is sensitive and when you do not do primaries and you manipulate yourself, you end up wasting your time. Put me on record anywhere that I said the best thing for any aspirant under PDP in Ethiope East is to emerge through a free and fair primary. Why do I say this? I will make reference to 2010 and 2011 particularly, but the primaries started in December 2010 when Majemite emerged as candidate without proper primaries, and the rest is history. She did not just lose the election but came out third. The DPP then took first position with Oshevire as the candidate with over 29, 000 votes. The ACN candidate, Chief Sunday Onoriode who left PDP because he was not satisfied with the way the primaries went came out second. Despite PDP was a household name then, they came out fourth with less than 4, 000 votes. So you can see the difference. Why did it go this way? There was disaffection amongst party members that almost destroyed the party. In 2015, the primary at Isiokolo was frustrated by persons who knew they will not win and must scuttle it and the rest is history. I was the candidate from that election and if we could rewind back the hand of time, I would want us to go back and correct that mistake. In 2019, nobody should think of a process that would be rigged and not follow due process; or one of adoption of a candidate because if the stakeholders of the party are not with you, you are going to lose since they have the option of working against you. So, that is why PDP lost in this local government in 2011. Even in the rerun election we also lost in 2015. But, I can tell you that we are not blocking anyone out even the incumbent. Whosoever the delegates decide to support I can bet you, would carry the aura of the party to the general election and I can assure you that the failure of PDP will end in 2019. So we are not shutting him out. We are saying that there must be free, fair and credible primaries.
What are your predictions if it happens that the party decides to select a candidate to represent the party in the House of Assembly election and not get one through party primaries for the 2019 election?
There will be mass defection from the party. Buhari calls that “mass movement” and that is what will happen to the party in this area. I have spoken to the leaders and advised that they conduct free and fair primaries. This is not for only the party in Ethiope East. Free, fair and credible primaries should be embraced by PDP in determining who represents them in an election. PDP is the only party that exists in this state, as we are also a household name. You know Buhari has messed up Nigeria. But, if we must reclaim power back, then we must allow popular candidates emerge. Look at Adeyeye, he has crossed over to another party to pursue his ambition despite the fact that it was a free and fair contest conducted by our amiable Governor, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa in Ekiti State. So, I can tell you if they cook up anything here it will boomerang. And I can tell you that it will have effect on every other election in the local government area. So, the candidate that emerges to represent the party for the elections for the state House of Assembly election must be a grassroot person that is popular to the people so that he will be able to properly market our candidates for the House of Reps contest, Senatorial candidates and even the governorship and the presidential candidates to the people at the grassroots. So, my plea to the party, especially in Ethiope East where we have someone like Great Ovedje Ogboru, is that we must be seen to be a credible party so that we can withstand them. We have 29 constituencies in the state, 10 Federal House of Reps constituencies and 3 Senatorial districts and I suggest that there should be free and fair primaries to determine who emerges to represent the party at the general elections at all these levels. For the governorship, it is carry go because our governor is hardworking. Governor Okowa should not be brought into the politics of candidates and primaries. He has no problems with primaries, but needs people who are accepted by their people to face the general election so he can also have a smooth sail.
If you don’t get the ticket, would you defect?
I will get the ticket. Why won’t I get the ticket? The question does not arise if I will get the ticket.
To be continued…

[adrotate banner=”5″]