[dropcap]I[/dropcap]ncumbent member of the House of Representatives for Aniocha/Oshimili constituency of Delta State, Mrs. Amaechi Mrakpor on Thursday alleged that she was outspent by her rival in Wednesday’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to pick the party candidate for the constituency in the 2019 general election.

The primary was conducted in Asaba amidst heavy shooting midway into the counting of votes, an exercise that was completed at the office of the Commissioner of Police, where her predecessor, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, was declared winner with 266 votes by the Returning Officer, Uzor Nwadu.

Mrakpor polled 226 votes.

However, Mrakpor not only rejected the outcome of the poll, she accused Elumelu of vote buying with $1,500 each for over 500 delegates, adding that this violated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s earlier plea that no aspirant should give more than N100,000 to each delegate for feeding, transport and accommodation.

She further accused Elumelu of inducing delegates with jollof rice and chicken, and also campaigning to the voters while voting was in progress.

“On the night of October 1, some delegates from my local government informed me that Elumelu was given delegates $1,500. I didn’t quite believe it because, before then, the governor had announced that no aspirant should give any delegate more than N100,000 for their accommodation, transport and feeding since they will be coming from rural areas.

“That was the briefing we got and I got ready with N100,000 each. But by night of October 1, I a got phone call that Elumelu was giving out $1,500 or N550,000 and I confirmed it,” she said.

Mrakpor claimed that after Elumelu voted, “he came back and started campaigning to the delegates while voting was going on. After that he brought out a Ghana-Must-go bag and started sharing jollof rice and chicken and whatever else he was sharing with it, nobody cautioned. I was trying to be obedient. He shared about $800,000, and just yesterday morning he went out again to share another dollar for breakfast for the delegates. Nobody stopped him.”

But in a swift reaction, Mr. Elumelu debunked all the allegations made by his opponent, and urged her to accept defeat and join hands with him to deliver all PDP candidates from the House of Assembly seats to the governorship seat in the general election.

There is absolutely no truth in what she has submitted, I never induced delegates with $1,500 each. Let me clearly state that I was seated from the beginning to the end. I could not have been campaigning or carrying rice to go and serve people,” Elumelu responded to the allegations.

“Even in national convention or zonal convention, they serve people refreshment, that does not mean it is Ndudi Elumelu that served the food and drinks. Let us stop these petty allegations. What is the truth is that the people have made their choice, and we should accept it,” Elumelu said.

Meanwhile, Mrakpor has insisted that there was no primary for the constituency, adding that it was mere argument, and not violence, that ensued during the counting of votes.

She said what happened thereafter at the office of the Commissioner of Police was just drama and allocation of votes.

“What happened was not violence, it was just argument. It was the police that decided to show their bravery by firing live ammunition. We left that place at about 5 p.m. and they suddenly appeared at about 9 p.m. to say that the CP wants to count the votes, and I said the votes must be counted at the field, not at the CP’s office because I don’t know when the CP became the PDP national chairman or the PDP monitoring team. So I left. It was later I heard that they ascribed 266 votes to him,” Mrakpor stated.

Explaining what led to the argument, she said “When they started counting, I was taking note. At a point I counted 230 and they said I scored 226. That was when I stepped down with my markings on my hand, and I walked to them to point out the mistake. But something told me to look underneath the bag where I saw lots of ballot papers which they claimed were void votes. By the time they brought it out, all the ballot papers were mine. They said the voided votes were tagged. I held the votes in my hand, that now demoralized them. They now asked me to go back so that they do the things themselves but I said no because it is my destiny. They said they will not count his (Elumelu’s) votes in my presence.

“If you accredited 481 and you already said I have 226 and now you are saying that he has 266, Onwusanya has 13 and the other man has 01. If you add the other persons’ votes to my 226, and the voided votes, it will be 253. Subtract this from the number of accredited delegates and you will see what he is supposed to get.

“I have been in this for quite some time, if you keep quiet, they will sail through with it. And we will be destroying democracy. We are witnesses to what is happening in Nigeria now.

“I have integrity, and that is why, despite the money that was pulled out from the bank, the people refused to move. If you gave out almost $800,00 for primary election, if you are spending almost $1 million, not the food, not the other breakfast and nobody is blinking an eye about it, and you are voiding my votes, saying that they were titles that were not supposed to be there, I think it is unacceptable,” Mrakpor said.

Culled from SUN

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Group Chairman of JUNIC Group of Companies,Elder Acho Nonyalim has hailed the emergence of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Delta State as a good political omen that will produce desired peace and development in the state.
Elder Nonyalim who made the observation in his congratulatory message to Senator Okowa who was declared the winner of PDP gubernatorial primaries held in Asaba , said the outcome underscores equity and fairness that are the desire of Deltans.
While describing the result of the election as fantastic, Elder Nonyalim said Dr Okowa is a political father to many politicians in Delta State and implored him to be accommodative in victory.

According to the Elder Nonyalim, the reaffirmation of the governor at the just concluded PDP Governorship primaries in the state never came to him as a surprise, saying the Governor deserved it.He said that; “First and foremost, I want to Congratulate our dynamic governor, Senator Okowa for emerging as the PDP Gubernatorial flag bearer in the State. The Governor has done extremely well in the last three and half years and so it did not come as a surprise when he was returned unopposed at the PDP Governorship primaries in the state .

By: Grassroots Publishers

Tunde Balogun, APC Lagos chairman, declared Jide Sanwo-Olu winner of the election with 970, 851 votes. Incumbent Akinwunmi Ambode scored 72,901. The race has been between the two. Mr Balogun made the announcement despite the position of the party’s electoral committee which was sent by the National Working Committee to conduct and supervise the exercise.

The committee members addressed a press briefing around 4:00 p.m., saying they were unaware of any election and effectively nullified the exercise whose results Mr Balogun announced tonight. The chairman of the committee, Clement Ebiri, also told Grassroots Publishers online at about 6 p.m. that no primaries held and his committee was still with the materials to be used for the primaries.

Multiple sources at the APC national secretariat in Abuja told Grassroots Publishers online Tuesday night that fresh primaries might hold on Wednesday. But late on Tuesday, TVC News reported that party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, said the results announced by Mr Balogun would stand.

If Mr Oshiomhole indeed supported the primaries that held Tuesday, it would mark an apparent nullification of the decision of the committee he sent to the state. Tuesday’s exercise was consumed by controversy almost as soon voting started at ward units across the state in the morning.

The exercise was conducted via direct primaries method, but loyalists of Mr Ambode alleged disenfranchisement and threatened to hold their own exercise.

Mr Ambode’s supporters accused Lagos APC leaders of employing high-handed tactics to ensure the victory of Mr Sanwo-Olu.

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]en. Peter Nwaoboshi on Tuesday picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial ticket for the Delta North Senatorial District for a second time at the party primaries in Asaba.  Nwaoboshi polled 506 to beat his closest rival, Prince Ned Nwaoko, former member representing Aniocha-Oshimili Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, “who polled 453 votes and Chief Paul Osaji a former Commissioner in the state with 216 votes’’.

Chief Uzor Nwandu, the Returning Officer, PDP Electoral Committee, who announced the result, declared Nwaoboshi winner of the election for garnering the highest votes of 506 out of a total of 1,194 votes cast.

She declared that the number of void votes were 19.

According to her, the total votes cast is 1.194 and the number of accredited delegates are 1,214.

“The breakdown is as follows; Paul Osaji pulled 216 votes, Price Ned Nwaoko pulled 453 votes while Nwaoboshi pulled 506 to emerge winner.

“I hereby return Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi as the PDP candidate for the Delta North Senatorial District for the 2019 elections,” Nwandu said.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he ex-Lagos governor also noted that, by his (Tinubu) action, he was only responding to the yearnings of the party supporters as a leader. Ex-Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, further explained why he dumped Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the party’s preferred choice, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Speaking shortly after voting at Ward C, Ikeja council, when he had participated in the Lagos APC governorship primary, Tinubu who acknowledge that Ambode has done well in office, was however quick to add that the party preferred his challenger because the governor lacks “character.”

Tinubu, who insisted his withdrawal of support for Ambode was not personal, further said “this is an elixir for the general election. Ambode Akin, he’s doing well, yes; he hasn’t been a good party man; not only the glamour, not only about brick and mortar. A talent is determined by character. For you to become an influential person, you have to respond to the yearnings of the people. This is politics; democracy, one man, one vote.”

The ex-Lagos governor also noted that, by his (Tinubu) action, he was only responding to the yearnings of the party supporters as a leader by acceding to their request not to anoint Ambode ahead of next year’s governorship election in the state.

He added that without followers, there can never be a leader, saying that should he decide to go against the wishes of the party members, he would have failed in his role as a leader.

“Who did I support in 2014? Ambode. Life is dynamic. It’s those who made me the leader of the structure in Lagos who said it was what they want. It’s only if you have followers that you’re a leader in democracy.

“If I look back and I don’t find them again; if I don’t respond to them, if I fail to accede to their request, I would have failed the leadership test.

“This is not personal; it is beyond me as a person. Every democratic constitution is preceded by ‘We, the people’. So, I had to submit myself to the wishes and the yearnings of our party,” Tinubu declared.