Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
PA chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Victor Ochei, has said that the era when politicians and political parties could speak authoritatively about winning a coming election was over due to the reforms in the electoral process, particularly by the new Electoral Act in the country.
Ochei, executive director at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said the new electoral law would prevent the “manufacturing of votes” by political parties.
The former speaker of the Delta legislature stated this while fielding questions from journalists in Asaba shortly after formally unveiling the APC 2023 deputy governorship candidate, Hon Friday Osanebi, before the leaders of the party in Delta North senatorial district at a meeting held in Asaba on Saturday.
On APC’s taking over Delta from the PDP in 2023, the former speaker said, “Well, at the end of the day, Deltans will decide. I’m not sounding boastful because there are no longer times when a political party can beat its chest and say it will win an election; because with the new Electoral Act, it’s one-man-one-vote. You don’t have votes being manufactured anywhere like it was in the past.”
He added, “Having said that, I do know that Deltans have a choice – they will have a choice in 2023 – and they will definitely vote for the APC.”
The meeting, attended by various party leaders, also had in attendance candidates for national and state assemblies positions in the 2023 general election.
Before proceeding to a closed-door session, the party leaders stated that “the real game” had just begun as the APC was “on a rescue mission” in Delta, which the PDP allegedly mismanaged since the return to democracy in 1999.
Ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Director-General of Delta State APC 2023 Governorship Campaign Organisation, Godsday Orubebe, assured that the APC would the victory of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in the 2023 governorship election.
Orubebe lamented although he was “one of the most loyal members of the PDP,” he was not accorded much respect, especially with the refusal of the party to zone the 2023 governorship to Delta South senatorial district before the gubernatorial primary election.
