As aspirants in the forthcoming
Delta Central Senatorial District by-election prepare for the battle at the
polls, a chieftain of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in the State, Olorogun
Abel Edijala has indicated his interest to participate in the election.
Making his declaration known over
the weekend at Ewu town, Ughelli South LGA of the State, where the late Senator
Pius Ewherido hails from, Edijala spoke on the need for a free and credible
election, insisting that the people should be allowed to choose their
replacement, saying “This contest is for Urhobos and Urhobos alone, therefore
ethnocentric sentiments cannot come to bear.
“For instance, the UPU cannot openly
or secretly endorse any aspirants. We are all eminent sons and daughters of
Urhobo extraction and so, it will be counterproductive to endorse anybody
before the election. Let it be one man, one vote. It is the interest of Urhobo
that whomever emerges, will serve”.
Edijala who hails from the same Ewu
Ward I as the late Senator Ewherido, while speaking in a meeting well attended
by elders, leaders and members of the DPP said he is going to the polls on the
platform of the DPP, where he has been a member because the party still remains
the party to beat in the State.
“With the huge grassroots support
the party enjoys under the leadership of my mentor, Chief Great Ogboru, it is
clear that DPP has won the hearts of the common man on the street. The lalaja
fever is everywhere and no APC can cure it. Even the PDP know that they will be
up against a strong wind that will blow them away.”
On his emergence as the party’s
candidate after the primaries, he said, as a grass-rooted politician, it will
be easy to win the hearts of the delegates, whom he described as people that
cannot be easily bribed with money to sell their conscience.
“The delegates will listen to voice
of reason because, I believe that the Senate seat is not for sale. Only a
competent, articulate and courageous person should be voted to represent the
Urhobo people. This election will further strengthen the ties between me and
the leader of the party, Chief Great Ogboru whom I stepped down for during the
Governorship rerun in 2011.
“I have since then joined the DPP
and I assure you that I have a very cordial relationship with the General
himself ,who has promised to allow an open field for all aspirants to ascend
the seat. I have no doubt in my mind that the position will be keenly contested
but at the end, the best man will take the seat”.
Speaking on the recent registration
of APC, he stated that, APC is a good party and it’s a welcome development.
“I have always been an advocate of a
two party system in Nigeria, so I congratulate members of the new party as well
as INEC that went the whole hog without interference from any quarters. In
Delta State, nothing has changed. We have had DPP and PDP as the dominant
parties with CAN, now, APC as the subterfuge.
“I wish them well but I know it
takes a while before you can win the confidence of the grassroot. Without
running the risk of shutting anyone out, Delta State will continue to be
dominated by DPP in a free and fair contest and I have no doubt that DPP will
still regain the seat at the Senate.
“Ordinarily, there ought not to be a
by-election to fill the vacancy, because DPP as a party won the seat in the
2011 general election, going by the precedents in the Amaechi’s case, where the
Supreme Court ruled that parties and not individuals, win elections.
“Currently the electoral act is silent
on by-elections, but I think the fair thing to do would be for DPP to provide a
replacement through their internal mechanism, under the close supervision of
INEC. This way, we can steam the possibility of disgruntled elements,
exterminating elected persons, just to bring everybody to the starting line
again. We have to find a way of discouraging electoral expenses, both for the
government and the contestants alike,” he added.
