[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he upcoming Delta State local government council election may tear the party apart if the leaders of PDP in the state fail to trade with caution. Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa had earlier promised Deltans that this forth coming local government election is not going to be by appointment or selection by leaders as practiced before by PDP, and Deltans believed the Government of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa because he was neither appointed nor imposed on Deltans even when his predecessor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan refused to support his ambition.
Gov.Okowa told Deltans at one of his campaign rallies that he is the most popular and experienced candidate and that he does not need the anionting of then government of Dr. Uduaghan to be governor of Delta State;all he wanted then was for the PDP authority to conduct a free and fair primaries in the state and his prayer was answered as free and fair primaries was organised and he defeated both government and anointed candidate of then governor. On this note, Deltans expect Gov. Okowa to stage a free and fair primaries in all twenty-five local government areas of the state and shun the evil advice of some political leader who believe in appointment and imposition of candidates because Deltans are wiser now and any attempt to impose or appoint candidate as usual will tear the party apart.
The Grassroots Publishers online learnt from a reliable source that there is a grand conspiracy against the wish of the people by some PDP political leaders; that the incumbent Chairmen and Councillors who are loyal to them and not to Deltans (masses) will be re-elected as they did not make (loot) a lot of money from their various council’s treasury because of recession. Most of these unscrupulous Chairmen and Councillors are now using our amiable governor’s name to deceive the general public saying that the governor and leaders have agreed for their return so as to make more money. The question on the lips of every Deltan is “Are these Chairmen and Councillors interested in service to humanity or looting”? A similar scenario occurred in Ibusa axis of Oshimili North local government area of Delta State when an outgoing Councillor in company of some PDP Ward Excos came to a PDP leader begging and pleading for return as according to the Councillor “I did not achieve my aim of acquiring cars and houses as a Councillor representing my Ward because there was no enough money” and the leader replied the Councillor by asking “Are you there for selfless service to humanity or to acquire cars and houses?”. The Councillor could neither answer the question nor alter a word as he obviously knows their aim of returning to seat is to loot and share the council’s treasury.
For how long will Deltans continue to live in the hands of these selfish and wicked politicians who are only after their personal pockets and not the development of Delta State? Deltans want Gov. Okowa to write his name in gold by giving all party members who are interested in running for any position a free and fair opportunity and not by imposition, writing of names or hand picking as done by previous administrations. It is so unfortunate that most Chairmen cannot declare publicly their monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the past three years. Most of the council’s IGR are not accounted for as they are either diverted to the Chairmen’s personal pockets or their agents. If this happens in Delta LGAs, how can such men and women be re-elected in the name of party loyalty? It is a shame that most of our Chairmen cannot diversify the council’s economy in order to increase IGR rather they all depend on monthly allocation from the state and use the little IGR made from the council to enrich themselves. Deltans need men and women who are ready to rescue the falling councils and not treasury looters who do not have vision or foresight of what grassroots governance is all about.Enough is Enough!
By: Maduike Ifeoma
Publisher: Guide Express Newspaper