Delta APC: Ogboru’s Failed Coup, DSP And I – Erue

Prophet Jones Erue, the chairman of the caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State has dismissed what he has described as the serial lies told by the party’s 2019 governorship candidate, Olorogun Great Ogboru against him and his leadership of the party.

While dismissing the claim that the deputy president of the Senate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege fled the scene of the party’s stakeholders’ meeting in Asaba last Wednesday he opened up on claims that he acted illegally in the inauguration of the caretaker committees at the state and Local Government Area levels.

GWG had reported that Ogboru had petitioned the national leadership of the party over alleged misdeeds by Prophet Erue.

Erue in his response said:

My attention has been drawn to series of spurious allegations levelled against the party and by extension my humble-self as State Chairman Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State by Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru the immediate past gubernatorial candidate of the party in the 2019 general elections, whose entrance to the Party in 2016 was largely due to my  personal efforts against all odds having rejected my earlier pleas to have him join the party in its formative stages in 2013.

Infact, it is on record that he also refused to work for President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 Presidential elections because of his perceived accord with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

It may interest party leaders and members to know that I continued to pressurize Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru and other leaders across Delta State to join our beloved party the APC even after Ogboru’s reported romance with the PDP and his various roles against the party prior to the 2015 general elections because of my conviction that even a sinner deserves a second chance.

Unfortunately and unknowing to me, Chief Great Ogboru harbours a sinister and wicked agenda to remove me as State Chairman and destroy the APC from within it’s rank in order to justify his possible pact with the opposition PDP. This he commenced as soon as he joined the APC in a bid to hijack the party structure; a plot he was using to negotiate with the then State Chairman of Labour party Chief Tony Ezagwu who he promised to replace me with as State Chairman if he agrees to defect with him to the very party that I brought him to join. 

Flowing from his nefarious determination to get rid of me as State Chairman, Chief Great Ogboru in a meeting at his hotel room in Transcorp Hilton Abuja with some officers of the State Working Committee which includes Chief Barr Adelabu Bodjor the State Vice Chairman (Delta Central), E.V. Onojeghuo Esq, the State Legal Adviser and others, where he levelled baseless allegations against me to the effect that I have received billions of Naira from the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to sell out the Party in the 2019 elections. Fortunately, these persons did not waste time in refuting his devilish accusations on my behalf, unknown to them, he was already preparing the foundation works for my eventual removal in his megalomaniac plot to seize control of the Party structures.

My challenge with Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru as a gubernatorial candidate of our party in the 2019 general elections is borne out of his refusal to account for reasons why he traded off the winning opportunities of our party’s bid to claim Delta State from the cleavages of the PDP inept administration inspite of the billions of naira of election funds made available to him, a reason he may have so much resources at his disposal to create endless crisis so as to divert attention from the pertinent question of accountability. Take a look at Great Ogboru’s Ethiope East LGA and Governor Okowa’s Ika North East INEC 2019 governorship results in the state- Ethiope East, APC 21,141. PDP 11, 489.

Ika North East, APC 2, 303. PDP 67,417. Total votes APC 23, 444 and PDP 78,906. Votes difference in favour of PDP is 55, 504 votes was I the cause of this shameful electoral performance? Can Chief Ogboru justify the reasons for this abysmal failure? am I responsible for his ridiculous performance in his own Local Government that he wants me dead? inspite of all the billions received for the election?

Dear party members, it may interest you to know that the APC in Delta State under my leadership has been peaceful and shall remain peaceful inspite of Chief Great Ogboru’s induced fathom crisis which only exist in the figment of his imaginations.

Chief Great Ogboru should come to the realization that APC is a national Party and not his one man’s business political party as it used to be when he held sway in DPP or Labour Party that were more or less subsidiaries of his Fiogreat Ltd. It is therefore not surprising that on numerous occasions, when caucus meetings were called, he refused to attend any of such meetings simply on the ground that as the gubernatorial candidate of the Party, the meeting should be called at his instance and even when called to his home, he fails to attend owing to ego.

It is pertinent to stress further on some underlying facts and respond to Chief Great Ogboru’s lies succinctly in the below context;

1). I, Prophet Jones Ode-Oghenemaro Erue never inaugurated local government secretaries rather, it was done by the respective local government chairmen in compliance with Covid-19 protocols to avoid overcrowding the State Secretariat which may have fuelled the spread of coronavirus.

2). The purported local government chairmen being referred to in the spurious petitions, are Ogboru’s self imposed chairmen not known to law, the constitution of the party nor to the executive committee of the party, apart from Prince Collins Mukoro the Chairman of Ughelli South local government area whom he erroneously or perhaps deliberately listed to mislead the party leadership and the gullible public.

3. The State Working Committee (SWC) members not inaugurated apart from Mrs Oyubu Janet(whose removal has been approved by the National leadership) and one Okpako Felix who are not members of the SWC and were not inaugurated, others whose inauguration were put on hold was due to the various petitions against them or the fact that they may have been removed by two third majority of the State Executive Committee (SEC) prior to the decision of NEC. It must be noted that Mr. Tosan Awani was not refused inauguration but he refused to take the oath of office and oath of allegiance after he clandestinely sneaked out of the party’s secretariat where he was already seated on the orders of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru who is his benefactor.

It is important to stress that consent judgement does not erode party discipline. The Party officers Great Ogboru is fighting to re-instate were those he bankrolled in a failed coup to destroy the party and some who committed several other heinous infractions to wit: insubordination to the constitution of the APC and anti – party activities and were investigated and disciplined in accordance with laid down party disciplinary procedures. 

Another clarification is that, NEC instruction has never been violated nor disregarded by the State Working Committee (SWC) under my leadership. The directive of NEC was simple and straightforward- swear-in the officers holding office prior to NEC decision that, I complied with. 

Furthermore, it is equally important to address certain misleading reports in the Punch Newspaper, Guardian Newspaper, Sahara-reporters and some online platforms that there was a fight during our Wednesday stakeholders meeting in Asaba and that the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, my humble-self, State Caretaker Committee chairman of out great party and other prominent party leaders and stakeholders scampered for safety. This is an utter falsehood and a product of fake news media propaganda by supposed reputable media organisations such as Punch and The Guardian. These reports fell short of journalistic professionalism for which these organizations are known for. 

Ordinarily, I would not have responded to the false reports, but we are compelled to react so as to put the records straight and not allow mischief makers mislead the innocent public.

It is worthy of note, that the stakeholders meeting which commenced at the scheduled time with the Deputy Senate President, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Engr Hyacinth Enuha, AVM Frank Ajobena, Evang. Ossai Abbeh (Ogboru’s running mate in the 2019 general election) in attendance, was peaceful and orderly with party leaders invited, participating in the meeting from the beginning to the end. 

The meeting went on smoothly with the Chairman and members of the Registration/Revalidation Committee sent from the National Secretariat to carry out the exercise in Delta State, also in attendance and can vouch for the peaceful atmosphere that lasted throughout the duration of the meeting. 

I therefore note with sadness, pity, and grave concern that Chief Great Ogboru’s name is featuring prominently in this needless mischief to taint our party’s image and smear its leaders. Whatever plan by any sponsored mischief-maker to attack some invited stakeholders before the commencement of the meeting, must have been abandoned as they chickened out in the end having realised that their plans to wreck havoc would have been stoutly rebuffed instantly by the swift response of law enforcement agents that were strategically placed to provide security in the venue of the meeting. 

It was therefore a failed coup. A coup foiled from within due to fear of the vigilance of APC members and security operatives. The Vanguard edition of the 4th day of February 2021 as well as other reputable media organisations gave the accurate account of what happened at the peaceful meeting devoid of the lies circulated by the mischief makers and their procured stories.

Worthy of note is that, inspite of the spurious media stories, the fringe mischief-makers did not even dare to carry out their wishful thinking of unleashing violence on participants at the meeting, they nevertheless somehow feel that they could still achieve their sinister agenda to taint the image of the party by planting fake news and outright lies in the media. Their case is so worthless that they tried in vain to use an alleged private disagreement that occurred very far from the venue of the meeting to justify their bogus claim. That is sad and utterly disingenuous. It will not fly.

The whole truth of the matter is that there was no single occurrence of violence at all during the stakeholders’ meeting. The supposed list of persons who were attacked is fake. This fact can be attested to by members of the various security outfits that were there to safegaurd lives and properties. These imaginary acts of violence, could only have emanated from disordered imaginations. 

Therefore, it is particularly disturbing that Ogboru’s name is being mentioned in this shameful fake news and media lies. If it is indeed true that Ogboru has a hand in it, then we worry whether he sought the views of his deputy gubernatorial candidate Evang. Ossai Abbeh before associating himself with this blatant falsehood.

Clearly, the fake news was the expectation of the fringe mischief-makers. Now that they have failed, it is better for them to embrace decency and truth instead of continuing their planned campaign of calumny against the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who is humbly and diligently applying himself to reconcile all leaders, unite members and genuinely rebuild the party to win elections all over Delta State. Attacking the hardworking Deputy Senate President is needless and senseless. It will not work.

By and large, may I use this opportunity to alert the entire security apparatus in Nigeria to hold Chief Great Ogboru responsible should anything happen to my life and that of my family members because few weeks ago Chief Great Ogboru told me on a telephone conversation that I should know that Chidi Okonji can assassinate me and die for nothing a threat that is real.

I urge the management of the Punch Newspaper, Guardian Newspaper and the online platforms that took that malicious reports to retract it for the sake of their credibility.

I also enjoin members of the public and our party members within and outside Delta State to ignore these baseless reports in their entirety. 

Prophet Jones Ode Erue Chairman Caretaker Committee Delta State.

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