The governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Labour Party, LP, in Delta State, yesterday boycotted the governorship debate organized by stakeholders in Delta State, making the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Chief O’Tega Emerhor, as the only participant at the debate held Tuesday night.
Chief Great Ogboru, the candidate of the Labour Party, who was at the Grand Hotel, venue of the debate, withdrew when he discovered that the PDP candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa would not be taking part in the debate.
DAILY POST recalls that the Okowa campaign organization, had, in a press release it circulated earlier hinted that Okowa was withdrawing from the debate based on the fact that his party had instituted a court process to disqualify the LP and APC candidates from contesting the election.
The campaign organisation’s spokesman, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon, had contended in the press release that Okowa and the PDP would have loved to be part of the debate, but they could morally not do so because it would negate the spirit with which they went to court to challenge the eligibility of Emerhor and Ogboru to contest the election.
For Ogboru, his withdrawal was because he had responded to the invitation to debate only because he wanted to meet Okowa and take him on, adding that participating when Okowa was not there would have been meaningless for him.
Reacting to the withdrawal of Okowa and Ogboru, the APC candidate argued that the candidates were simply not prepared to give account of themselves before the electorate, adding that the LP was an extension of the PDP because the two of them were working for a common presidential candidate.
“This is a referendum on their performance for the past 16 years. I think it is evident. If people cannot defend what they have done and they are asking for a renewal of the lease to continue to rule; if people have ruled this state for 16 years and there is no evidence that they have ruled well; no water, no employment, poverty is stark naked everywhere; infrastructure deficit is everywhere; they can’t defend what they have done.
“If they run away and cannot explain to Delta people, then you don’t give them your mandate. They have today told Deltans that they don’t want to talk to them; they don’t owe them any explanation; nobody should ask them questions about what they have been doing for 16 years.
“I stood because I wanted to tell Deltans that these people have failed you. Give me the mandate,” Emerhor said.
On what he will do if elected, Emerhor, promised to reduce cost of governance and project financing by bringing in partners to jointly fund major projects.
“We intend to use resources of Delta State as seed money and counterpart funding to attract outside funding of projects,” he said.
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