Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
The 2019 general elections may have come and gone but this is not without leaving behind bitter tales of woes in Delta State which is filled with political gladiators with tendencies of swallowing up lily-livered and inexperienced political actors who are unfortunate to get caught up in its murky waters.
Information obtained by SecretReporters reveals the awkward quandaries that befell the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ndokwa West local government which is supposed to be among the political powerhouse of Delta State owing to the fact that most political gladiators hail from the area and the unending power tussle which was iced with greed before, during and after the general elections thus producing low votes during the presidential elections.
The Secretary of the campaign committee, Barr Ernest Ogwezzy who is also the State Commissioner Bureau for special duties, we learnt during the whole campaign period had no knowledge of party strategies and proceedings as he usually only takes minutes of meetings like a paid administrative secretary and share kola money without uttering a word leading to the obvious lapses and inexperience of the management team that created a huge gap between party members, and the campaign committee, which couldn’t be bridged before the National Assembly elections.
It was revealed that the outburst of the party members and the low voters turn out in the LGA during the presidential/House of Assembly elections was as a result of the candidature of Hon Ossai N. Ossai, who was vying for the House of Representatives seat as he is believed to be a wrong choice and perhaps the worst mistake the party made in history of Ndokwa nation for the 2019 general elections. His candidature SecretReporters learned was allegedly one of the reasons for the embarrassments the party got in most of the wards as at some point during the campaign, he was asked not to make any speech, while Sen. Peter Nwoboshi campaign for both of them. “He is politically unproductive but always forced on us”, a notable leader from Utagba Uno remarked.
A reliable source squealed to this online medium that based on this premise some PDP party members and high profile leaders in the LGA worked against the success of the party in some areas during the elections. In ward one, for example, it was alleged that Chief Tony Ezuku, Barr. Egri Okwaji and others from Umuseti Quarters deliberately lost their units against Hon Ossai Ossai but the situation changed in the state elections. While Ezuku, Okwaji, and others, delivered their four units for PDP in the Governorship and House of Assembly elections, other leaders like Ossai Ossai, Fidelis Oputa, Dr. Eyime, Johnson Opone, Henry Olokor and others, also lost their units deliberately in the House of Assembly elections, which paved way for the ADC candidate from their quarters Mr. Ozegbe Adoh Asuai, to win the twenty six polling units out of the thirty in ward one.
Also in ward six, Ogume faction loyal to the Anoka’s voted for ADC, but the rescue votes came from Utue and Igbe Ogume. It was also alleged that the maximum leader of their group, Austin Odili, funded the ADC candidate for House of Assembly. However, these leaders and members will also go to the Governor for one political patronage or the other against the interest of those who labored and voted for the party.
Our knowledgeable source also revealed that Barr. Ernest Ogwezzy who was appointed Commissioner in 2015 by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as compensation to the area has been serving his own interest as well as that of his tasks masters. Ogwezzy who is said to have a big mouth whenever he feels good allegedly squealed to different persons at different places how he has been servicing and meeting the huge financial demands as well as awarding choice contracts worth millions of Naira to Senator Osakwe, the Council Chairman Mr Ifeanyi Osakwe, and Kingsley Egugbo while acting as demigod in the area. We gathered that the only reason while the ruling party in the state still got considerable number of votes was the intervention of the Chairman of Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, Monday Onyeme, who funded the party’s machinery and door to door campaigning while appealing to the electorates to sheathe their swords and deliver the party.
According to another source, the commissioner Ogwezzy was noted for also boasting of how he successfully looted funds meant for flood victims running into jaw-dropping amounts, “MY BANK ACCOUNTS ARE ALL FLOODED” he boasts.
Following this, aggrieved flood victims from six local governments affected by the flood petitioned the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the management of funds meant for flood victims in Delta state with serious allegations against the Commissioner and the Director of SEMA.
Party loyalists in the local government lament that the actions of these supposed party chieftains have made support for the ruling party a matter of “Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” which may, in the long run, guarantee a colossal defeat if another election is conducted on this premise.
