Prince Felix Edidju is a personal aide to Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, Governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP. He spoke with our Senior Correspondent, Omonigho Matthew recently at the marriage ceremony of his younger brother held at Okumagba layout in Warri. He declared that the impending re-run election in Delta State is a test-run for Professor Attahiru Jega.
Excerpt:
The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin recently nullified the election of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, what is your take on the shocking judgement?
It is a welcome development and a landmark judgement for all. I mean a landmark judgement to Delta State.
Don’t you think the judgement came too late?
In the hand of God, nothing is too late, the judgement came at the right time.
With the nullification, do you think Great Ovedje Ogboru stands any chance of winning the re-run election?
Yes, there is no other candidate that can stand Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru in any election as far as Delta State is concerned. You saw that on the day of the annulment, as soon as the news came you could see the jubilation in spite of the fact that the judgement was passed around eight minutes past eight in the night.
How prepared is Great Ogboru for the impending guber battle, considering the strength of Uduaghan structure?
By his stand, he is battle ready and we the teeming supporters are solidly behind him in any circumstances. You need to see the way okada riders, market women threw into jubilation a day after the judgement was passed.
Is there any truth in the allegation that the Presidency influenced the Appeal Court Judgement?
Never, Never! It is a landmark judgement.
Do you have any word for the Judiciary?
It is a plus for the Judiciary as we are beginning to have confidence in them.
How would you describe Uduaghan’s three and half years’ tenure?
It was an illegal government, all he did was to make everything illegal.
So what should be done to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan since you are alleging that his administration was illegal?
I am not a lawyer, the argument we have gotten is clearly understood. We are only trying to advise INEC, this kind of judgement happened in Ekiti State, now it is Delta. There should be a kind of electoral punishment for electoral offenders, we are also praying that the National Assembly should make laws capable of bringing electoral offenders to book.
We have it on good authority that Great Ovedje Ogboru has decamped to the ACN, how true is this?
You are talking of merger. A merger must come in accordance with so many things, which is the way it should be. We tried to merge, but it didn’t work, so some members who felt they were not ok with the system left the party for the ACN. But Great Ovedje Ogboru is still a DPP member.
How is the DPP going to manage those who ran to other political parties?
They are welcome back.
What do you have to tell those who lost fate in the party’s legal battle and left?
They might have lost fate for one reason or the other, this is the time we are to go back to the drawing board and dialogue. We will call them and let them know, we have been preaching this, it was just impatience that made them lost hope. So they are free to come back to the party.
Any message to members of the Democratic Peoples Party and Deltans in general?
First, we are trying to make sure that INEC registration comes before the election. Because INEC has said that the old voters’ register is full of fraud. Categorically, the conditions have made it open to Nigerians, hence INEC should go and look for fund to conduct fresh registration.
On this ground, we will sensitize our people to go and register in the forth coming registration. We will make sure INEC conduct a free and fair election, since registration is the major key to elections.
In order to ensure free and fair election as you put it, what is your word to INEC in particular?
This is the question I was even expecting. I want Professor Attahiru Jega to know that Delta State election is a test-run for him, it is now we will know whether he is ready with what he is saying. We will know if one man one vote will really count, this is where we will know if elections will be free and fair. On this ground, I will advise that in Delta State election, each local government should be monitored and controlled by a resident electoral commissioner from each state. We have 36 states in this country and 25 local governments in Delta State. Jega should post a resident electoral commissioner of a state to each of the 25 local government areas in Delta State to be an electoral officer of a local government in Delta State.
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