Urhobo Draw Battle Line With Jonathan, Uduaghan

President Goodluck Jonathan  and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (Photo source: Osun Defender)

President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will lose over 80 percent of the votes from Delta State in next year’s elections, if the party fails to field an Urhobo as its governorship candidate.

The Nation reports this was part of the resolutions in the communiqué issued yesterday by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), the umbrella body of the largest ethnic group in the state.

The communiqué, which followed the union’s congress at the Urhobo Cultural Centre in Warri, was signed by UPU’s President-General, Chief Joe Omene.

It criticized Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for taking a stance against the interest of the Urhobo.

The communiqué also accused the governor of disrespecting his deputy, Prof Amos Utuama, an Urhobo man.

UPU accused some politicians of working against the interest of Urhobo, especially those working with Uduaghan.

The union threatened to sanction them until they turned a new leaf.

It also said the union would soon take a stand on its relationship with Uduaghan, especially because of his position against the political interests of the Urhobo.

The communiqué, which Omene read yesterday at the congress, said: “It would be recalled that in March 2014, the Urhobo nation, under the auspices of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), took a position and stated that all registered political parties, including the PDP, the ruling party in Delta State, should pick their governorship flag bearers/ candidates from the Urhobo nation. This was duly condensed into the ‘Uvwiamughe Declaration’.

“In the 2011 general elections, for instance, the average numerical votes delivered by the Urhobo people for the President (Goodluck Jonathan) was well above 820,000. This figure is almost comparatively double of the votes realised from the North and South senatorial districts of the state put together, which were hardly up to 500,000 votes. In fact, that of Delta North, to be more specific, was 149,000 votes only. It must be emphasised here that ‘democracy is a game of number’.

“Consequent upon the above undisputed facts, the Urhobo, resident within the shores of Delta State and beyond, still insist on the Uvwiamughe Declaration that ‘we will vote for any political party that gives its governorship ticket to an Urhobo person’. This we will do in the various elections, including the presidential.”