DTHA: Follow Your Heart, Be Bold, Firm, Courageous, Akpowowo Urges Ethiope East PDP Delegates

–Says He Is Not An Agbon Aspirant
-Promises Yearly Empowerment For Constituents If Given The Mandate
By Our Correspondents
A frontline aspirant for the Delta State House of Assembly seat, Ethiope East constituency, under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olorogun Barr. Arthur Akpowowo, has urged delegates for the forthcoming primaries to resist pressure to be influenced against their wish, adding that they should follow their heart, be bold, firm, courageous and exercise discretion to determine who emerges victorious in the party’s primaries taking place a few days from now.
Speaking to Oasis Magazine (OM), during a telephone conversation, Barr. Akpowowo added that he was confident of victory with the support of the people and by the grace of God.
He continued: “The delegates know those that are contesting in terms of antecedents and performance. They must do the needful and ensure that there is no regret when we approach the polls in 2019. If they choose the wrong candidate there will be regrets.”
He called on the delegates to choose a candidate that will properly represent and recognize them after emerging as the party’s candidate.
He expressed confidence in the party to conduct free and fair primaries for all aspirants.
His words: “The Governor of the state is a believer of free and fair primaries. His antecedents as a believer of free and fair primaries made the party at the national level give him two assignments to conduct two national conventions and the gubernatorial primaries for the party in Ekiti State.”
He continued: “At the national level, we have been assured that there will be free and fair primaries. We believe in the leadership of the party. Remember that sometimes in June, the party apologized to all Nigerians for the impunity in the party and that they were sorry for doing things the wrong way and that they were ready to rebrand. I think one of the ways to rebrand is to promote internal democracy through the conduct of free and fair primaries.”
Akpowowo warned that anything short of free and primaries will not be good for the party, not just in the council area, but across board.
On if being an Agbon indigene knocks him out of the race since indigenes from Abraka have called for an Abraka candidate, he opined that he was not an Agbon candidate though he hails from there.
He continued: “I am a state politician. I served as the party’s state youth leader and so see my constituency as the state and will carry every part of Ethiope East along. Mind you, I deal with wards and not clans.
“When I was the state youth leader then, even those from Abraka benefited more from me in terms of empowerment and appointments compared to the Agbon people. This has been said by others in different places. They have even said that I am more inclined to Abraka people.
“I have no problem with Abraka people and I believe I will even pull more votes from Abraka during the primaries more than those contesting with me from Abraka because of my antecedents and relationship with them in the past and even now.
“I have confidence in the two clans of Abraka. I am a titled chief in Oruarivie Abraka Kingdom as the Osubi didi of the kingdom and I also have many friends in Umiaghwa-Abraka Kingdom.”
Speaking further, he said: “I have told many of them who confessed that they worked against me in 2015 because of clannish interest that a good friend is better than a bad brother. They have all seen that it is not about where you come from, but the capacity to deliver.
“Many of them now have regrets for supporting their so-called brother and have had a change of mind. Almost on a daily basis, I receive sympathizers such as Okada riders and market women across party lines saying that they will support me if I emerge as my party’s candidate.”
Taking a swipe at the empowerment programme organised by the incumbent lawmaker representing the area, he said: “That was not empowerment. It was a spread of poverty. When I emerge as the candidate for my party and hopefully the lawmaker representing this area, my empowerment will be yearly and not days to elections to gather delegates and those that are leaders who can influence delegates to give them N5, 000. That was an insult. The next day I learnt they also went to his place where he gave them additional N5, 000.
“By God’s grace, when I emerge, there will be no Agbon or Abraka arrangements for empowerment. Rather, I will spread my scholarship scheme, empowerment and developmental projects evenly in the 11 wards in the area.
“Ivwurie called delegates to intimidate them in the presence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the state party Chairman. Those he gave those miserable items are delegates. I am aware that the delegates are angry. For those he gave hair dryers, where is the generator to power them. The beneficiaries will end up selling those items and use the money for funny things. He would have copied the Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s empowerment programme.”