Omene Sobotie, a major leader of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta
State, has urged the arrest and
prosecution of Godsday Orubebe, a former
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, over his
attempt last Tuesday to disrupt the
compilation of results for last weekend’s
presidential polls.
Omene Sobotie, a major leader of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta
State, has urged the arrest and
prosecution of Godsday Orubebe, a
former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, over his
attempt last Tuesday to disrupt the compilation
of results for last weekend’s presidential polls.
Last Tuesday, Mr. Orubebe had taken a
microphone at the collation center of the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) and openly announced that the PDP
would not allow the electoral commission to
finish the announcement of the presidential
election results, accusing INEC chairman Attahiru
Jega of helping the opposition All Progressives
Congress (APC) to rig the election.
Reacting to what he described as a treasonable
offences, Mr. Sobotie, a former Commissioner for
Environment in Delta State, told reporters today
in Asaba that he condemned Mr. Orubebe’s show
of shame. He added that the former minister’s
action was capable of plunging Nigeria into
crisis. He likened Mr. Orubebe’s action to the
action of former military dictator Ibrahim
Badamasi Babangida’s annulment of the June
12, 1993 presidential election.
“What Orubebe did at the International
Conference Center (ICC) during the collation and
announcement of the presidential election results
in Abuja was to plunge and instigate crisis that
would have degenerated to the abortion of our
smooth electoral process,” said Mr. Sobotie. He
added that the former minister’s action “is a
treasonable offense and Orubebe should be
arrested and tried immediately over that
treasonable act demonstrated to the whole world.”
Mr. Sobotie continued: “This is somebody who
was a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
and who knows the consequences of his unruly
and unconstitutional action. Orubebe should be
arrested and tried for his attempt to abort [the]
democratic process. His action was intended to
cause serious crisis in the country. And if
Professor Attahiru Jega had got up and reacted
and, in the process, these PDP overzealous
supporters and members broke his head—and he
was unable to continue the process—what state
would this country have found itself in?
“This is the reason why former President
Olusegun Obasanjo said that luckily Professor
Jega was not a Humphrey Nwosu. If Professor
Jega [were] a Humphrey Nwosu, may be it would
have led to the abortion of the democratic
process. The action of Orubebe is an indictment
of [the] PDP and whoever asked Orubebe to
represent the party as its agent.”
Mr. Sobotie, a former political adviser to
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State,
said Mr. Buhari’s victory should be accepted as
proof that Nigerians have expressed their verdict,
getting the change they desired.
Meanwhile, INEC’s formal announcement last
Wednesday that Mr. Buhari was the winner of
last Saturday’s presidential election, has
precipitated what one PDP insider in the state
described as “a defection fever.”
The source told SaharaReporters that Governor
Uduaghan and the PDP’s governorship candidate,
Ifeanyi Okowa, had held separate emergency
meetings with party members in Asaba to avert
announcements of mass defections.
“Since the declaration of General Muhammadu
Buhari as the president-elect, the PDP in Delta
has suffered serious underground exodus from
the party to the APC. This has created serious
sleepless nights and panic within the party,” our
source said.
“Some strongholds of the PDP in the state
across the 25 council areas have been broken.
Some of our foot soldiers, aggrieved members
as well as heavy weights, are said to be forming
strong alliance with the APC,” the source added.
O'tega Emerhor, the APC’s governorship
candidate, is scheduled to be in Asaba on
Sunday to meeting “some PDP bigwigs and
supporters” reportedly considering switching
political affiliation.
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