Ese Adagbra, Warri
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart in Delta state Chief Fred Sowho has described the agitation of zoning of the governorship position as fraudulent and undemocratic as far as the 2015 governorship election is concerned.
In a press release made available to journalists in Sapele, Delta State, the former Delta State PDP Public Relation Officer stated that since the inception of the present democratic dispensation and even during the second republic, there was nothing like zoning of the presidential and governorship positions, adding that it has never happened in delta state.
According to him, “It is a blatant falsehood to say that zoning of governorship slots has been practiced in PDP since 1999 certainly not in Delta State.”
He said the leadership of the party is flying the kite of zoning to cause distraction, maneuvering and blackmail so as take over the soul of the party.
The PDP Chieftain said the process of nomination which only few people nominate party flag bearer be it presidential or governorship is “gross violation of the democratic process, stressing that only few governors and presidents whether present or past would have won their nomination if due process is followed.
To buttress his opposition to any form of blanket zoning to one senatorial district for the governorship race, he challenged any politician in Delta State particularly of the PDP stock to tell him if there had been any nomination in Delta State in which all the contesting aspirants come from one Senatorial District.
While calling on the electorate not to lose their sleep over the zoning or rotation agitation, he urged them to come up with a strategy to counter what he described as an attempt to swindle them, adding that the electorate should be watchful and follow up moves to checkmate any form of rigging, denomination in general election so that the wrong person does not take over government house in 2015.
Sowho said it would be too premature to discuss the antidote to “swindling and nomination” on pages of newspapers, just as he stressed that politicians who have been in the system since 1999 have a cure to the problem.
The race to government house in 2015 in Delta State is being heated by politicians from Delta North Senatorial District under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who have been laying claim to produce the next governor of Delta State in 2015.
However, politicians from Delta Central and South Senatorial districts see it as a very wrong move. They, however, believe that what Delta State needs at this point in time is a credible candidate who can carry Deltans along in terms of overall development of the State irrespective of tribe or senatorial district.
They equally believe that from 1999 till date, the race has been open to all the senatorial district as no one senatorial district was allowed to produce the governor without other Senatorial District participating. Former Governor Of Delta State Chief James Onanefe Ibori contested the election with people from other senatorial district. So also is Dr. Ewetan Uduaghan, the present governor of Delta state.