"We have so much in common, we have to come together, we have to work together and chase away Okowa and PDP from Delta State. We have succeeded in the first step, when the election came on Saturday, the man who had stolen all our money said he wanted to be vice president, we said it could never happen. All of us came out and we chased PDP out."
Some supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in Delta State, have pledged to work with the All Progressives Congress (APC) during Saturday's governorship election.
Mr Obi's supporters, also known as Obidients, pledged their support for the APC during an interactive session with the party's governorship candidate, Ovie Omo-Agege, in Asaba, the state capital, on Sunday.
This was contained in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the spokesperson of the Delta State APC Campaign Council, Ima Niboro, on Monday.
According to the statement, the Lead Coordinator of the Coalition of Obidients Movement in Delta Central, Ochuko Edafe, said the Obidients vote for individuals and not parties.
"We Obidients, we follow the footsteps and watch the character of our principal, His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, and when we came down home to our state, Delta, we decided we are going to look out for the same character and among all the people running for governor of Delta State.
"His Excellency, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has those qualities and character and as you can see, he is a man of the people who is ready to meet with the people anytime.
"We are not card-carrying members of any political party. We look for the qualities of a good leader and we have chosen to work with Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. He is the most credible candidate for the 2023 governorship election in Delta State. That is where we have pitched our tent and that is where we have decided to follow," Mr Edafe said.
The coordinator said Saturday's election would provide the opportunity to remedy the situation in Delta State and that Obidients would maximise the opportunity.
He explained that they chose to follow Mr Omo-Agege instead of the LP governorship candidate because the deputy senate president was the only credible candidate in the race and had performed creditably as a senator.
"We know everything that is happening in Delta State and now that we have the opportunity to remedy the situation we want to maximize it.
"Since 1999 till date, there has not been a senator who performed like Senator Omo-Agege. People ask why don't we follow the Labour Party governorship candidate and we say, we follow Peter Obi because he is credible and that is why we say, the only credible candidate as far as Delta State governorship election is concerned is Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
"I want to assure you that the way the 25 February presidential election went, that is the way it will go on March 11, expect more votes for Senator Ovie Omo-Agege," he said.
Earlier on, Mr Omo-Agege expressed bitterness about the burden of suffering the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, had allegedly placed on Deltans saying, he, the as governorship candidate of the APC, was on the same page with philosophical views on how the people could live a better life.
He called for an alliance to fight the battle during the election.
"We are not happy with the way Okowa has punished our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who gave the best part of their lives serving Delta State and upon retirement, Okowa refused to pay them their gratuities and pensions. On that, we are all on the same page.
"We are also not happy that our students who are in tertiary institutions in Delta State are being made to pay so much money by way of school fees and levies. We know when Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan left office, tuition was N25,000. Today under Governor Okowa tuition is N300,000. Are we happy about that?
"On that one, I, Ovie Omo-Agege, Delta APC governorship candidate and you are on the same page.
"We have so much in common, we have to come together, we have to work together and chase away Okowa and PDP from Delta State. We have succeeded in the first step, when the election came on Saturday, the man who had stolen all our money said he wanted to be vice president, we said it could never happen. All of us came out and we chased PDP out.
"So now, the man can never be vice president. We have one more battle to go, we have to retire him permanently. We don't have emperors in Delta State. Here we dig six-foot graves to bury our dead but we are going to politically bury this man in a 21-foot grave. We don't want the afflictions of Okowa and PDP in Delta State again.
"I want to make a commitment to all of you today, I feel your pains, we are on the same page. We want a Delta State where there will be job opportunities for our children when they leave school, where we will have good infrastructure, good roads, good schools, good hospitals and where workers will be paid their gratuities when they retire. A Delta State where we have 24-hour electricity, where companies operating across the Niger can come here to do business and create job openings for our youths."
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Mr Omo-Agege said he was the only one standing to fight and chase out Mr Okowa and that all other persons were pretenders enlisted into the battle to protect the governor's interest.
"Okowa is the one financing them. He is doing so because he wants a third term by proxy. I cannot do it alone. I need your help. I want all of us to come together. Between now and Saturday, go out there and canvass on behalf of Ovie Omo-Agege.
"When I emerge governor it is you that has emerged governor. When it is good for me, it is good for you. By God's grace, if I emerge, governor, come to me and tell me, this is what we want you to do for us. We are going to run a participatory government. We are going to bring you into the government. I want to thank you, please do not rest. You started this and you have to finish it."
"Today, Okowa is running around begging everybody, moving about like a wounded lion. You see him on TV crying that the election was rigged against him when we know he is the one who rigged the election. When we know he is the one who stole the election in Ika federal Constituency and Delta North. And for us in Delta Central he was prepared to steal our senate seat, in Delta South he wanted to steal our senate seat too but we refused."
