Congress: Agege, Emerhor, Okotete, Others Blast Delta State APC Leaders’ Council, Pass Vote Of Implicit Confidence On Buni

By Daniel Dafe

The Delta State Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a swipe at the Delta State APC Leaders’ Council, a group they said is made up of mischief makers that are “bent on derailing the broadly successful Governor Mai Mala Buni-chaired Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC),” saying it will not happen under their watch.

Reacting to what they described as “yet another unnecessary attack” on the leadership of the Party, in a statement signed by Prophet Jones Ode Erue, Delta State APC Caretaker Chairman, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi , representing Delta North Senatorial District, Air Vice Marshall Frank Ajobena, Olorogun Otega Emerhor, Member of Board of Trustees of APC & Governorship candidate 2015, Hon. (Rev.) Francis Ejiroghene Waive, Member, House of Representatives representing Ughelli/Udu Federal Constituency, Hon. Stella Okotete, National Woman Leader, APC National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Chief Ede Dafinone, Member of Board of NEXIM Bank and 15 others, they said the said Council are “operating under the false and lawless style of ‘Delta State APC Leaders Council,” saying they are “few but noisy.”

The statement continued: “Mainly, the grouse of this ‘Axis of Artificial Troubles’ against the CECPC is its total support for an all-inclusive growth strategy for our Party in Delta State. A strategy that is working miracles everywhere in Delta, as the APC continues to take new grounds.

“We are pleased with the CECPC’s preference for pragmatic, result-driven politics instead of narrow, selfish and unproductive politics.”

On the recent decision of the Supreme Court in JEGEDE v. AKEREDOLU case, they said that “some hastily wrote and released supposedly “confidential” memos to the public to threaten, blackmail and stampede the CECPC from carrying out its hugely important assignment as delegated by our NEC – the highest organ of our Party.”

Continuing, they said: “Confused about their dead-on-arrival plot to sabotage our Party from within, they have chosen to insult leaders who rallied our members to respect the directive of our Party to participate in the hugely successful Ward Congress of yesterday, Saturday, 31st July, 2021.

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“In further rebuttal of the fake flag raised again on the CECPC, we note that the CECPC is a Congress and Convention Planning Committee’ with responsibility to conduct our Congresses and National Convention and bring in executives from the Ward right up to the National level. This power was duly delegated to the CECPC by NEC presided over by Victor Giadom pursuant to a court order. Therefore, the CECPC’s ad-hoc duty to organise congresses/convention is distinct and unchallengeable. Indeed, serving Governors often head similar ad-hoc committees constituted by their parties to conduct congresses and primaries. That, unquestionably, is not an ‘executive’ or ‘salaried’ role under the 1999 Constitution (section 183). So, it is political naiveté and mischief to question the validity of our hugely successful Ward Congress using a clearly flawed premise.”

Delta APC Caucus added that “it is deeply embarrassing to wildly allege that responsible and committed grassroots leaders of our Party obtained congress forms “though no payments were made to the bank” for the said forms.”

They quizzed: “Did the Party report any official complaint of missing forms or that forms for the Ward Congress were not paid for in Delta State? Why label over 7,000 Ward Congress contestants across all 270 Wards in the State as criminals?”

Adding: “Attempting to destroy the character of those in charge of our grassroots politics is dishonourable and condemnable. This extreme disrespect for the grassroots may partly explain why everyone in this blackmail league “leadership council” except only one, lost all elections in their polling units during the 2019 General Elections.”

To those they believe are fanning embers of disunity, they said that “political leadership is about capacity, not noisemaking, blackmail and empty threats.”

“We advise again that it is better for the broom to sweep together. No scheme will taint the massive success recorded by the CECPC at the just concluded Ward Congress nationwide, including Delta State. We are satisfied with the conduct of the Ward Congress exercise which was duly monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and congratulate our new Ward Executives in the 270 Wards of Delta State,” the statement said.

They thus passed a vote of implicit confidence on the national leadership of the APC under the guidance of Hon. Mai- Malam Buni and all members of the CECPC for steadying the sailing of the Party with great results to show for it, saying “the CECPC deserves our full support, not vilification.”