From Paul Osuyi
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State on Tuesday declared that the two leading opposition political parties in the state including the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Labour Party, were not serious before and during last Saturday local government elections across the state.
The governor said the opposition parties were not prepared for the polls, noting that their call for the cancellation of the election was preposterous and ridiculous.
Recall that the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) had declared that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the 25 available chairmanship seats and 499 out of 500 councilorship seats with Allied Party winning one seat.
Reacting to the call for the cancellation of the polls, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Festus Ahon, described the allegation of rigging by the opposition parties as false and laughable, adding that the opposition were not prepared for the election.
He said that the PDP has continued to sustain its winning streak in the state because of the laudable programmes and projects of the party from 1999 till date.
Ahon said the APC and Labour Party did not only field candidates but also refused to campaign, emphasizing that the PDP was the only party that campaigned round the entire units and wards across the state.
He challenged the Labour Party to “tell Deltans and Nigerians how many candidates they fielded in the local government election, chairmanship and councilorship candidates, beyond that where and where did they campaign?
“You don’t expect people to come and vote for you because you are in the Labour Party, you don’t expect people to vote for you because the election is coming up.
“You have to reach out to the people and tell them what you want to do and tell them the need to vote for your party and your candidates. You can’t stay in your home and expect people to come and vote for you.
“As a government we will remain focused. We won’t allow ourselves to be distracted by a few elements in the opposition parties.
“Here is a man who couldn’t even win in his own community in the last governorship election coming up to allege that PDP rigged election when we canvassed for votes throughout the 25 local governments, wards and units in the just concluded local government elections.
“Where were they when we were campaigning and reaching out to Deltans? Of course Deltans have come to love the PDP because of what the State Government has been doing for them since 1999.”
Ahon further said Governor Oborevwori had done so well to gain the trust of the people leading to the total victory of the party in the just concluded Local Government elections in the state.
“In the last one year, the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has touched the lives of Deltans in so many ways in terms of roads, healthcare, education, employment of over 3,000 teaching and non-teaching staff for primary schools, empowerment among others.
“Deltans have come to love the PDP, they have trust in us and we will not betray that trust,” Ahon added.
The CPS described the council chairmen and their deputies as men and women of proven integrity and challenged them to champion human capital and infrastructural development at the grassroots in line with the M.O.R.E Agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
He advised the newly sworn-in officials at the local government level to guard against friction as no meaningful development could take root in any atmosphere of rancour and acrimony.
He said the preparedness of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC and the professionalism of security operatives added credence to the election.
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