Ogboru, Emerhor lambast Okowa over alleged provocative comment

ASABA—GOVERNORSHIP candidates of Labour Party, LP  and All Progressives Congress, APC, in last year’s governorship election in Delta State, Chief Great Ogboru and Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, yesterday, tongue-lashed the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for saying  that they did not campaign for the election.

Okowa had at an interactive session with journalists in Asaba, last week, said that Ogboru and Emerhor did not prepare for the election and therefore, should  apologize to Deltans for distracting them with several litigations from the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Peeved by the governor’s utterance, Emerhor said, “Okowa’s statement is, to say the least, not only dishonest but also disingenuous. Granted  that he is entitled to congratulate himself for the victories awarded him by a judiciary that is now swamped in controversy,  does he truly believe that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, court victories in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and other states were also because no one else but the PDP did all the campaigning in those states?

“Okowa should know better and enjoy his awarded victory soberly. He ought to, not only show remorse but also, seek forgiveness and cooperation. He should not be rubbing salt on injury. More importantly, he should know that Nigeria is on a new path and the days of might is right are over.”

Also reacting, Chief Ogboru, speaking through Efe Duku of the party’s Media and Strategy Committee, said, “Okowa took a rather infantile advantage of his recent unhealthy release from election petition hooks by the Supreme Court to make incendiary, reckless and out rightly irresponsible comments about our 2015 governorship campaign.

“In an apparently naive and opportunistic answer to a question on why he thinks a man of Olorogun Ogboru’s towering standing should apologize to him for taking the civilized option of challenging his bogus and senseless votes in the 2015 election in the tribunal, rather than answer the question, disrespectfully, he said Chief Ogboru did not campaign to be governor of Delta State. What an insult from a man whom many believe did not win the election and therefore they do not recognize as a governor.

“Okowa must be told that the Supreme Court may have cleared him on technicalities but to people who believe in substantial justice, he is a usurper of the ‘senseless rigging’ specie.”