Emerhor-led APC Delta elects Ogodo as chairman

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7 years ago

The newly elected chairman, Chief Cyril Ogodo, and other APC leaders in Delta State, celebrating his victory.

After initial fears that hoodlums had been detailed to scuttle Monday’s rescheduled State Congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Chief O’tega Emerhor tendency has emerged with Chief Cyril Ogodo as state chairman of the party.

The State Congress was held at the College of Education (Technical), Asaba, venue reportedly approved by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja.

Chairman of the State Congress Committee, Eugene Odoh, oversaw the Monday congress with some other members of the NWC, INEC officials and security agencies.

Odoh said Chief Ogodo, who was the outgoing immediate Vice Chairman of the party, polled a total of 731 votes to beat his only rival, Fred Obe who had 99 votes out of 1439 votes.

Ten of the total votes, according to her were voided.

The congress was initially slated for last Saturday but was later rescheduled for Monday by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The leader of the party, Chief Emerhor, while speaking on the conduct of the exercise, said his faction has duly obeyed the postponement directive and the results would be forwarded to the NWC for ratification after the exercise has been reviewed by the Appeal Committee.

“We have gone ahead to obey the NWC which postponed the Congress for today (Monday).

“At the end of this exercise, the Appeal Committee will come and review what has been done before the results would be taken to Abuja for certification,” he enthused.

Speaking on efforts to reach out to aggrieved members of the party, he said: “After this Congress, we would reach out to them and that is the role the national is going to play.”

A chieftain of the Emerhor camp and former South-South PDP vice chairman, Chief Hyacinth Enuha, applauded the exercise that ended peacefully on Monday.

The 2019 gubernatorial aspirant said: “Beyond all expectations, we have had a successful congress and we give credit to the leader of the party in the state, Olorogun Emerhor for the organization of the Congress.”

Another APC governorship aspirant in the state and former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, said: “The organization, voting and process has been fantastic and I’m impressed that everyone is here to witness what a real state congress is.”

The elected state chairman, Chief Ogodo, in his acceptance speech, lauded his co-contender for accepting the outcome of the result.

“Its only in Delta State that an election was conducted and a winner emerging.

“Let us now go home and be united so that we will be able to install an APC government in Delta State, come 2019.”

It will be recalled that the Ogboru-Omo-Agege faction, in an alleged defiance of the postponement directive from Abuja, conducted its own State Congress on Saturday where the outgoing chairman of the party, Prophet Jones Erue and a few other executives members were returned unopposed.

Omo-Agege had reportedly boasted that there was no counter directive from the party’s NWC that the Senator Olugbenga Obadara-led committee was replaced by Mrs Eugene Odoh and a rescheduled congress for Monday.

He maintained that the Saturday State Congress held by his faction, under the supervision of INEC officials, was the authentic congress APC NWC would recognise and work with and not the one held today by the Emerhor faction.

The Emerhor faction, it will be recalled, comprises Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Odigie-Oyegun, former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Engr. (Barr.) Victor Ochei, Prof Pat Utomi, Chief Hyacinth Enuha, Chief Cairo Ojougboh and other prominent leaders and are said to be loyal to the Chief Oyegun leadership.

The Ogboru/Omo-Agege bloc, which includes Prophet Joe Erue, Mrs Mariam Ali, Chief Frank Kokori and A. S Mene, who had, on Saturday, conducted its parallel congress at St. Mulumba College in Okpanam near Asaba despite the postponement by NWC owing to allegation of inducement, is aligned to the Tinubu/Oshiomhole-led national leadership of the APC.

With two parallel executives emerging from the two factions, the APC NWC, political observers had opined, is now left to lay the shenanigans to rest through the Appeal Committee.