By Onome Oghenetega
Crisis is currently brewing in ward 9 of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State as the party State Auditor, Chief Owin Erhirumuru, has been accused of allegedly imposing his wife as the ward secretary.
The choice of Mrs Erhirumuru is alleged to have divided stakeholders of the party ahead of the forthcoming PDP congress in the state
Some leaders of the ward also kicked against the choice of the wife of Pa. Daniel Okoro, a former PDP chairman in the council, as the ward woman leader.
The development was on Thursday greeted with a peaceful protest by members of the party from Okuofuoma Unit 14 who rejected the choice of two women as ward secretary and woman leader respectively for the congress.
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The protesters told our correspondent that the people of Okuofuoma Unit 14 have been shortchanged in the leadership of the party, saying that it is the turn of Unit 14 to produce the Ward youth leader in the forthcoming congress.
Addressing newsmen during the protest, a former House of Representatives aspirant for Okpe, Uvwie and Sapele Federal Constituency, Prince Kingsley Oberuruaria, alleged that Pa. Daniel Okoro’s wife has held the woman leader’s position since 1999.
Oberuruaria, who led the aggrieved protesters explained, “We are protesting the imposition in our ward. Since 1999, we have been in PDP and Okuofuoma unit 14 in ward 9 in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State have gotten nothing from the party. I mean nothing. We have gotten nothing in terms of empowerment, appointment and elective positions.
“Daniel Okoro’s wife has been the woman leader in the ward since 1999, and just yesterday (Thursday) ahead the PDP congress, she has been selected again as Woman leader. She has been picked to represent the ward at the congress.
“The state PDP auditor, Chief Owin Erhirumuru, who is also from ward 9, also picked his wife as the secretary. This is an injustice and things are not done this way. This is a party we all fought for during the last election. Whenever anything good is coming, PDP members in Okuofuoma are denied what is their right.”
According to him, the Okuofuoma Unit 14 had always delivered their votes for the PDP in all previous elections, wondering why supporters of the party from the unit had always been shortchanged by ward leaders.
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Oberuruaria lamented that despite efforts by the State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and other leaders to keep the party together, some party leaders were working to divide and polarize the party by causing confusion ahead of the state congress through selection of their cronies as party executives.
“We all know how the state governor, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa suffered to keep the party together during the election. We are pleased with his performance as a governor. Now that the governor has asked the party leaders to go back home to organize the party, they are selecting their wives and imposing their stooges on us.
“They told us that they shared woman leader to unit 14 and immediately Pa. Daniel Okoro wrote his wife’s name as woman leader again. The same woman that has been the woman leader over years. It’s not done this way. The Okuofuoma community of unit 14 reject this position. We need the position of the youth leader, and not the same woman leader”, he added.
He called on the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori; the State PDP chairman, Olorogun Kingsley Esiso as well as a former minister of information, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, to quickly intervene in the brewing crisis in the ward.
The PDP stalwart while appealing to for urgent intervention, noted, “We are calling on His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, to please intervene. We know you as a man that hates injustice and oppression. We are aware of the peace effort the governor has made to keep PDP together in the state, and even in other states.
“We are also pleading with Chief Kingsley Esiso, State PDP chairman, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori and our leader, Prof Sam Oyovbaire to urgently intervene in this crisis in our ward. The position should go to other persons rather being recycled within two families.
“This is a peaceful protest. The youths are angry over the development. They wanted to block the Benin-Sapele Expressway until we appealed to them. PDP won unit 14 in all the elections in the last general elections. This is a unit that has the chairman of APC in Okpe LGA. The ward 9 APC chairman is also from here but we fought hard to win it for PDP.”
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Also speaking, a PDP support in the ward, Mr. Ese Okobaha, said the peaceful protest was to draw the attention of the party to the anomaly in Ward 9 ahead of the forthcoming PDP congress to be corrected for the unity and growth of the party.
Okobaha stressed that in spite their support for PDP in the years past, the people of the area have not benefited anything from the party either through appointment, empowerment or elective positions because some leaders sit on good things that should come to Unit 14.
“We are not leaving PDP. PDP is our party and we have worked for the growth of the party. Okuofuoma should be given the leadership of ward 9. We will reject this imposition. If this anomaly is not rectified, we will continue to protest and block the Benin-Sapele-Effurun Expressway.
“They should give Okuofuoma unit 14 the youth leader of Ward 9. We have contributed immensely to the growth of PDP but there is nothing to show for it”, he stated.
Efforts to speak with the State PDP Auditor, Chief Erhirumuru, on the allegation proved abortive as repeated calls to his telephone line were not picked as at the time of filing this report on Friday.
