Okowa fires back at Oshiomhole, tells him to stop wild goose chase

(Nigeria) Delta State governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, fired back at his Edo State counterpart, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, describing the allegation that he was recruiting thugs to undermine the Edo election as baseless and indicative of loss of confidence of the APC-led government to woo voters based on track records of its achievement.

He restated his support for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidates in the Edo State guber election, Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu and congratulated him on his emergence as the party's flagbearer.

Chief Press Secretary to Okowa, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, while responding to the allegation by the Edo State Government, in a statement, stated that it was preposterous for the Edo State Government to expect that Deltans would leave their constituencies and embark on a wild goose chase of registering to vote in Edo State.

He noted that Edo State Government has also betrayed its ignorance of the workings of the Permanent Voter Card, which makes multiple registration impossible and asked the APC in the state to restrict itself  to  issues rather than resort to name- calling.

Aniagwu said: “Governor Okowa is too refined to engage in such clandestine activities to the extent of decimating his own support base by encouraging his constituents to register in another state. What becomes the fate of Delta political stakeholders who would rely on the votes of those people in subsequent elections?

“This is laughable and is gradually becoming a character of the APC in Edo State to believe that it can scare opponents through smear campaign. Governor Okowa declared publicly that he would support the PDP candidate both morally and logistically to win the September 10, 2016 governorship election in Edo State and no amount of brow beating would stop him.”‎

The statement recalled that Oshiomhole’s outburst, some weeks ago, against the South PDP Governors for pledging their support for the PDP in Edo State and wondered when it became an offence to declare support for members of one’s party.

“Oshiomhole boasted that he could win election against Okowa in Delta State. Why is the Edo State APC getting fidgety for a mere declaration of support to the PDP candidate by Okowa.

"We therefore, call on the security agencies to intensify its surveillance on all the electoral processes to ensure that those who cry the wolves where there is none do not find a chink to rig the poll."