Delta APC Governorship Primaries: Ogboru Defeats Ochei, Utomi, Cairo

By Daniel Dafe
Great Ogboru has emerged the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2019 governorship election.
The gubernatorial primary organized by the Prophet Jones Erue-led State Working Committee (SWC) at the Sports Arena of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, saw the trio of Prof Pat Utomi, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei and Dr. Cairo Ojougboh defeated by Great Ogboru who won the exercise on a landslide note.
Declaring the outcome of the party’s congress, the returning officer, Major Gen. Lawrence Onoja (rtd), announced that a total number of 3,644 votes were cast by the party delegates, with 129 votes ascertained as void and 3,515 votes recorded as valid.
Onoja disclosed that Ogboru polled a total of 3 , 292 votes to defeat his closest rival , Victor Ochei , who scored 160 .
Renowned political economist , Utomi , scored 26 , votes while Dr .
Dr . Cairo Ojougboh polled 12 .
In his acceptance speech, the party’s flag bearer and five times gubernatorial candidate, Great Ogboru expressed delight at the exercise and called on aspirants who fell out to join hands with the party to ensure victory in 2019.
“There has to be only one winner, it is a game, it is not a warfare. Therefore, the time to sheath your swords is now, let us come and unite, work as a party and face our common opponents in the quest to translate our state into a new Delta. I offer them the opportunity to come and join our ship of hope, to articulate our position and our agenda for our people in Delta State and to drive this state forward, making it a place where we believe that a new sense of thinking will be the order of the day. That is what we mean when we say a New Delta.” Ogboru stated.
Meanwhile, this primary election which produced Ogboru as the party’s candidate, is currently being termed as parallel election, because the Cyril Ogodo faction of the party in the State, had organized a gubernatorial primary election same day at Nelrose hotel, Asaba, which saw the emergence of Prof Pat Utomi as the governorship candidate of APC in Delta State.