FEB 02, 2019
Ahead of the February 16 and March 2, 2019 elections, stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ikpide-Irri riverine community, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, have threatened that any indigene who casts his or her vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be banished from the community.
SaharaReporters reliably gathered that the decision
was taken on Friday during the PDP stakeholders meeting held at John
Kpokpogri’s residence, a retired admiral at Ikpide-Irri community and
attended by Aggrey Apena, a strong PDP member and Archbishop of Bethesda
Gospel Mission, Pius Otolo, John Kpokpogri, Immanuel Emoefe, Chairman
of PORTPLUS limited, a marine firm handling the N736,404, 555.60 road
contract said to have been a ‘kola’ gift to the firm by Ifeanyi Okowa of
Delta State.
Speaking in confidence with our correspondent, a
PDP member, who attended the meeting, said other decisions were reached
during the meeting but what was top on the agenda was the “banishment”
of any indigene who cast his or her vote for APC in the February 16 and
March 2 elections.
He said: “At the meeting, the issue of the
arrest of Mr. Endurance Ukpethu over the protest concerning the
controversial ‘kola-nut’ road contract was also raised and Immanuel
Emoefe, chairman of PORTPLUS limited, a marine firm handling the
controversial Ikpide-Irri N736,404,555.60 road contract vowed to deal
with the local government council chairman, Itiako Ikpokpo, for backing
Ukpethu. Immanuel vowed to fight with the last drop of his blood to make
sure that Ikpokpo and Ukpethu are jailed.
“At this juncture,
Aggrey Apena, Archbishop of Bethesda Gospel Mission, Irri, cautioned him
to tread with caution as those protesting against the controversial
substandard road project meant well for the community and should be
invited for a dialogue. However, Immanuel vehemently turned down the
cleric’s advice. As I talk to you, following the banishment threat
targeted at APC members, so many persons in the past two days have been
dumping the APC for PDP for fear of being molested and banished.”
A
community leader, who preferred not to be named for fear of attack by
“political thugs” working for the PORTPLUS Limited Chairman, said: “The
issue of banishing APC members in Ikpide-Irri by Immanuel and PDP
leaders in the community as threatened is a fact and must not be handled
with kids gloves at all.
“Before now, Immanuel and Kpokpogri, a
retired Navy Admiral, had vowed to use their connections to occupy the
community with soldiers and other security agents, who will harass and
intimidate APC members during the general election. In the 2011 and 2015
elections, that was how Immanuel and Kpokpogri occupied the entire
community with soldiers, harassing, beating and intimidating members of
the opposition. I can also tell you that Immanuel has brought in
wrappers to be distributed to women and girls, including cash, during
the elections.
“Though I don’t belong to any of the political
parties in the community and I don’t vote, a level playing ground must
be allowed for all parties in the community during the elections. You
know Immanuel will do everything to protect his food from the PDP and to
grab more multi-million naira contracts and amass illicit wealth to the
detriment of the community indigenes. A case study is the controversial
Ikpide-Irri road contract which he said was given to him as kola-nut
Governor Okowa.”
A member of the APC in the community, who simply
identified himself as Orowo, confirmed the development to our
correspondent, stating that “series of secret meetings have been going
on at the residence of the owner of PORTPLUS limited, perfecting plans
on how to rig the elections and use soldiers to harass, intimidate and
beat us members of the APC in the community which they have done in the
past before now. You can’t turn a whole community into a one-party
community.
“We APC members in Ikpide-Irri community want to use
this medium to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, the party’s
governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, the immediate past governor
of the state and APC Delta South senatorial candidate, Dr. Emmanuel
Uduaghan and Honourable Joel-Onowakpo Thomas of Isoko federal
constituency to come to our aid and also put solid measures in place for
the protection of our members in Ikpide-Irri during the elections.
“How
can a man will so be desperate and dubious and fraudulent and plan to
maim his own people because of elections? This is a man, for reasons
best known to him, changed his real name from Emmanuel Omojefe to
Immanuel Emoefe. This is a man that was given a road contract of almost
one billion Naira as kola by Okowa, according his elder brother and
president general of Ikpide-Irri, Mike Omojefe. Immanuel and his cohorts
have always been involved in vote buying in this community during
elections.
“At the end, he will use the community to negotiate
for political appointment for his family members and grab contracts. For
good sixteen years now, the senator representing Delta South senatorial
district, James Manager, and member representing Isoko federal
constituency, Leo Ogor, have failed the people Ikpide-Irri community and
Isoko in general, as such must be voted out. Blood will flow should
they carry out their plans to rig the elections and use soldiers to
harass and intimidate us,” the APC declared.
At the time of
filing in this report, all efforts to reach out to Immanuel Emoefe and
other PDP leaders who participated in the stakeholders’ meeting, proved
abortive as their mobile lines were not be reachable. However, a
community member disclosed that the riverine community has no mobile
network due to the terrain.
Source:- Saharareporters
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