Forty-eight political parties in Delta State on Saturday said there is no going back on their determination to get justice for their exclusion by the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) on the ballots for March 6, 2021, local government election in the state.
The Delta State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) had a week ago expressed confidence in the arrangements for the March 6, 2021, local government elections in the state.
IPAC, which is the umbrella group of registered political parties in the state also noted that DESIEC’s preparations for the elections hold bright prospects of a free and fair poll.
However, the aggrieved political parties on Saturday in a statement described the claims by IPAC that their case against DSEIC had been withdrawn as false, saying the report was sponsored by a faction of IPAC.
A statement was signed by Prince Alex Oyoro and Comrade Austin Onori, Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator respectively for the Forum of Like-minded Political Party Chairmen in Delta State.
The statement reads in part below:
Our attention was drawn to a publication by some unscrupulous persons who styled themselves as Delta State IPAC Chairman and Secretary. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have responded to them because they are hungry attention-seeking fellows, who have no means of livelihoods than to roam about the streets of Asaba looking for handouts from political officeholders.
In the illiterates failed bid to stop us from going to Court to seek justice for our exclusion by DSIEC which will further expose their shameless and dirty underhand business, resorted to cheap blackmail.
These irresponsible persons failed to understand that we are in Court to seek justice for our Parties so that we can all participate in the forthcoming Local Government Council Election in Delta State including their Parties, but DSIEC refused to include our Parties despite the Appeal Court rulings and order in our favour. These hungry people should know that it is our Constitutional rights to seek justice if we feel short-changed.
According to the statement, “It is quite unfortunate that the hungry self-acclaimed IPAC Chairman and Secretary who withdrew the suit they filed on behalf of seventy-four Political Parties without our consent even when the case has not been heard because a meagre five million naira given to them by a PDP officer and with a promise that they will be given jobs and appointment by the State Government have the guts to say rubbish on social media platforms after using the names of seventy-four political parties to collect the sum of N5million through the PDP state secretariat and gave twenty parties twenty thousand naira each are saying nonsense.
On whose authority are they writing? Who made Peter Emuakpoje and Fred Akpewe IPAC exco members in the State?
Meanwhile, they alleged that the factional IPAC is writing to defend the money they collected from a PDP chieftain in the state and a member of the party’s state executive (name withheld) to withdraw their suit.
It may interest them to know we are not the types, who sell their rights, souls and spirits just to survive for two weeks; we are out for justice. They should come out clean and tell Deltans why they filed the suit in the first place?
It is a well-known fact that Delta State IPAC Chairman is Emeka Bidokwu, duly elected. You don’t sit in a Beer parlour to appoint yourself IPAC exco members. The shameless and useless people who withdrew the suit from the Court after collecting money proposed to give only 25 Party Chairmen N20,000 each and a bag of rice after collecting the sum of N10,000 each from the Party Chairmen to file the suit. While some collected N20,000 and bag of rice others with integrity refused and headed to continue the case in Court.
We should be able to know a beer parlour language from a jobless man. They are so daft to know that you don’t speak on a matter that is in Court.
We are in Court to challenge our unlawful exclusion, and not for someone to sit in a Beer parlour dishing out rubbish to the public.
It is the Court that will decide and not some jobless attention-seeking fellows.
