A renowned legal practitioner based in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, Chief Aghwarianovwe Novwe Ikie has explained why he rejected the sum of One billion naira allegedly offered him by Sheriff Oborevwori’s camp during the 2023 Governorship primaries, saying he was not interested in money politics but legacy.
Chief Ikie made this disclosure to newsmen in his hometown, Thursday, January 30, at Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, when he played host to All Progressives Congress APC leaders and members in an event which also coincided with his 62nd birthday.
Chief Ikie who was also a governorship aspirant in the PDP during the 2023 general elections said he is not interested in politics for personal wealth but how to make people better and happy.
According to him “If I was interested in money, the offer of One billion naira that the camp of Sheriff Oborevwori gave to me then I would have accepted it. I don’t have One Billion Naira cash, I would have had One Billion naira but that is not who I am but legacy like my leader His Excellency Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
“I was a founding member of PDP left, came back so now that I am here they should know otherwise they will be confused if I am still in PDP because I contested the primaries with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and went to court all the way to the Supreme Court so they could be confused out there. Today, I want everybody to know that yes I am back fully and I am not going anywhere and I am in APC full stop.
“The need to respect the grassroots which is very important if you want to win elections you need to embrace the grassroots and you cannot go through high racketeers having leaders, Above all I have one leader and that leader is His Excellency Senator Ovie Omo-Agege that’s the leader I have, I don’t have besides him, so we must do everything to make sure that he emerges, as the next democratic Governor of Delta State and when he emerges I am confident, I know him and I know he means well for Delta state, look at what he did in Orogun that is legacy,” he said.
During the APC meeting, some persons defected from the People’s democratic party PDP in Ethiope East Ward Nine to the APC and were received by the Local Government APC Chairman, Chief Julius Ogboru, a scenario Chief Ikie described as incidental.
The renowned Astute politician and Business Man, Chief Aghwarianovwe Ikie continued in his words thus “The essence of this gathering is not really for defection, defection is just incidental to it, the essence of this gathering is to celebrate myself, my person having attained 62 years bearing in mind I was a very frail child, that I survived is a miracle and thanks to a Eku Baptist hospital but incidentally life is politics, you cannot devoid or divorce politics from life,
“I am going to run for an office, 2027 is still far off so I don’t know one but what I know, I will not run for Ethiope Federal Constituency I know that because the person I call my leader is aligned with a National leader and there is no way I will go against that interest, it could be Senate, it could be House of Assembly wherever they send me I will go if the leadership of APC says this is what you must do I will do. He added.
While calling on On Nigerians in the diaspora to be involved in politics at the grassroots, Chief Ikie notes that the country needs people who are in the diaspora to come back and change the narrative because they believe in functioning democracy “I have been encouraging them, I have come straight from the United Kingdom and I am here in my village in Eku, we don’t have Lions roaming the streets consuming people, Nigeria is safe, there is something about living abroad when you stayed away for a long time you become very frightened, you have heard stories but it is not as bad as they make it to be so I encourage them to invade the political space so if we want to save this place we need people from the diaspora to come and invade the space so that we can do what is right,” Chief Ikie posited.
