By James Jibril
Delta leaders council of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have thrown their weight behind direct primaries in the new amended Electoral Bill. They called on the President of the federation, Muhammadu Buhari to return power to the people by signing the amended bill into law.
The resolution was reached following a motion moved by the Chairman of the Delta APC Leaders Council and Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Olorogun Festus Keyamo SAN, in an enlarged meeting of the Council hosted by Hon Joel-Onowakpo Thomas at his Emede country home in Isoko South LGA, Delta State during the weekend.
”As Minister in Delta State, I am moving a motion that Delta APC is calling on Mr. President to sign the Electoral Bill with the provision of Direct Primary so that the party will be in the hands of true party members,” Keyamo stated.
The Minister also reaffirmed the authenticity of the Delta State APC Leaders Council as the recognized leadership structure of the APC in Delta State. Adding that the Leaders Council was constituted after careful consideration of the peculiarity and difficulty of Delta State APC to have one leader by the Chief John Oyegun South-South Reconciliation Committee which was put in place on December 15, 2020, by H.E. Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
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“We are here preaching peace not division and we must be mature enough to preach peace and advocate for the right thing. We are not fighting anybody or dividing the party but we want the will of the people to prevail. What brought about what we are doing here is not by our own making. It was the National Chairman of APC, Mai Mala Buni that put together the John Oyegun Committee that brought about this body. When they looked at the problems of South-South, and especially the problems of Delta State and they realized the dynamics of the party in Delta, they discovered that it is difficult to have one leader in Delta,” Keyamo noted.
More so, the Delta APC Leaders Council also authenticated the Delta State APC Executive Committee led by Hon. Silas Buowe, a former member of the Delta State House of Assembly as the only recognized APC Executive in Delta State. Adding that no single man has the power to put his houseboys, house girls, or aides as APC Executives in Delta State.
While making his speech, the APC State Chairman, Hon. Silas Buowe said “the life is always where the soul will be. If you look at all the names of APC members especially the prominent persons in Delta APC, which make up the soul of the party in this state, 99.9 per cent are seated on this high table. Therefore, because the soul is here, life is also here. I, therefore, want to congratulate us for making it to this level because I believe that this is where the real APC as a party is.”
The Delta APC Leaders Council is a college of different prominent leaders and top chieftains of the APC in the State. The council is chaired by Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Olorogun Festus Keyamo SAN from Delta Central and co-chaired by Dr. Alex Ideh from Delta South, with Dr. Cairo Ojougboh from Delta North as the Secretary. Other leaders of the council include Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, 2019 Governorship Candidate of APC, Olorogun Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy President of the Senate, Olorogun Otega Emerhor, foundation leader, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, Chief Richard Odibo, Hon. Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, Mrs. Miriam Ali among others.
However, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Olorogun Otega Emerhor have earlier disassociated themselves from the Delta State APC Leaders Council and they have set up their own factional state Executive Committee led Elder Omeni Sobotie, a Political Adviser to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
