Re: Matters Arising On Delta Elections

Right of Reply

Tonye Timi’s disingenuous attempt to rewrite the electoral history of Delta state just to depricate Ogboru and exalt his principal, Omoagege portrays him, sadly, as a very mischievous man!

To conclude that the 2023 elections suffered more infractions than the electoral heist and banditry unleashed on the people of Delta state in 2007 is evident that he was not in touch with reality or he is just determined to deceive our people, notwithstanding the fact that Omoagege himself confessed that he was part of the active perpetrators of the electoral misfortune against Ogboru within the period in view.

Furthermore, it amazes me why Timi should take the pains to classify and distinguish the degree of manipulations and violations of 2007 and 2023, and what could be his indices for arriving at his warped conclusion that “the revealed electoral infractions that justified the annulment of that 2007 election was not a tenth as villainous and widespread………in Delta state on 18th of March, 2023”.

ALSO READ: Assault On Woman: Delta Police Command Gives More Details On Agbarho Incidence

Maybe I should ask Timi the number of voters that were maimed, killed and if any of INEC offices across the state was burnt in this last election of 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the 2007 elections in Nigeria and Delta state in particular was a sham, characterized by widespread violence, killings, burning of INEC offices and complete miscarriage of the will of the people, so much so, that even the late president Umaru Yar’ adua (though a beneficiary of the corruption) acknowledged the fact that the elections were flawed and left much to be desired.

In Delta state, results were written and allotted, to the extent that Chief Ogboru was allotted zero in his unit, implying that he was not allowed to vote for himself (what can be worse!) coupled with the judicial pronouncement by Justice Monica Dogban Mensem, JCA, that in more organized climes the perpetrators of the electoral heist of 2007 would be in prison. Yet Tonye Timi describes the 2023 election even when the jury is still out as worse in depravity and pervertion than that of 2007. How low can someone get in his desperate endeavor to massage the ego of a paymaster!

Undoubtedly, the major infraction of the 2023 elections was vote buying that saw APC competing effectively with the PDP. It was a bazaar orchestrated by APC, PDP and others who call themselves money bags but PDP prevailed.

Moreover, what Omoagege said openly that Ogboru has been wining his elections since 2003, but that they in the PDP then have been responsible for rigging him out, underscores the reason Ogboru has consistently been in court since 2003 to retrieve his stolen mandates as corroborated by Omoagege.

In 2007 Uduaghan of PDP had 1.4 million votes and Ogboru had 49k votes in the declared results. It took Ogboru 3 and half years in the tribunal to overturn the gross hyperbolic rigged figures and a re-run election took place which Ogboru won in 12 LGAs before the fictitious votes from the riverine communities were used to defeat the mandate of Deltans in January 2011. The April 2011 general elections followed, in which Ogboru again won in 12 LGAs with 433k votes before 291k fictitious votes were brought from 3 riverine LGAs to defeat Deltans again. It will shock you to note that at the time Ogboru was the only Nigerian who had over 433k votes in a Governorship election and was not declared the winner.

The story of the card reader not known to law by the justices of the supreme court settled the 2015 and 2019 elections in favour of PDP.

Now in the era of BVAS, with all the machinery of the APC and PDP, they collectively had about 600k votes. Therefore using the 433k votes of 2011 as a benchmark it is clear that Ogboru won all previous elections.

Is it not laughable for APC to claim that the elections of 2023 were massively rigged yet they conclude that Ogboru’s votes were diminished and he was beaten black and blue. How can that be when you claim that there was no election in the real sense by your own characterization of the electoral process! What a contradiction! I will recommend you to the video and audio of your paymaster where he confessed openly that Ogboru has been winning his elections since 2003, but that he was fully involved and jointly responsible in subverting the mandate of the people of Delta state.

The truth that you can never escape from is the fact that the advent of BVAS and social media made the 2023 election in Delta state 10 times less brutal, less untransparent and fraudulent than the 2007 election (and others) Ogboru suffered. The BVAS has exposed the ridiculous unlawful votes PDP would bring from places like Warri South-West, where even as recent as the 2019 elections, total votes cast there alone were in excess of 150k votes, with PDP allotting themselves 139k votes. Compare that to 12k votes in 2023 that was shared according to how much APC or PDP paid for the votes.

Furthermore, citizen journalism through social media has meant that it is impossible for PDP to recklessly brutalize and slaughter the opposition or write and announce results before midday while people are still queuing to vote like they did in 2007.

Ogboru experienced real rigging while PDP was at the height of their pomp and power and Omoagege was fully with them. In 2007, PDP was the ruling party in the country and the ruling party in the state and Ogboru squared up to them without any political office or stolen government money. You can’t compare that to the 2023 election where Omoagege is in the ruling party, as the deputy senate president with appointees all over the place.

Omoagege had all the money and federal might going for him to win this election but he completely messed it up. The environment of 2023 election is a child’s play compared to what Ogboru suffered in the past. The relatively calm and peaceful environment of the 2023 election in Delta state has only exposed Omoagege as an overrated feeble politician compared to Ogboru since he could not achieve up to Ogboru with so much more resources, federal support and better climate at his disposal.

Finally, let me add here that no matter how hard you and the contemptible and base characters you represent work to tar Ogboru with same brush of contempt deltans know who the villains are. They know that Ogboru can neither be anybody’s stooge nor be bought with money. If Ogboru regards money he would have since been in PDP or remained in APC. Do you know what courage it takes to leave a rulling party to build a new party structure and have candidates in all the LGAs? Ogboru towers heads and shoulders higher than the people who pay you to vilify him. Please desist from writing fictions and be more objective!

Tony Omolu, APGA House of Assembly candidate, Ukwuani, writes from Delta state.