By Egufe Yafugborhi

There has been unease in Delta State Labour Party, LP, since serial governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, said he might collapse the structure of the party in the state, on which platform he ran for governorship in 2015, to now move same to the All Progressives Party, APC. In this chat with Sunday Vanguard, the 2015 Delta APC governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, affirms that Ogboru and a former state House of Assembly Speaker, Victor Ochei, will be admitted into the party in June, but that the move does not amount to a merger.

Delta APC is hoping to admit high profile politicians from rival political camps in its determination to capture the state in 2019? How is APC making this happen?

It is no surprise that APC as the national ruling party is attracting expected  interest of critical political players in Delta  who share the common mission of dislodging the  PDP that has misruled the state for nearly 17 years. We are excited at the decision of the opposition leaders and former PDP power brokers now joining forces with us in this  endeavour. In particular, Chief Great Ogboru is leading the LP in  Delta to join us.

A former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Victor Ochei, aside  being the state leader of Accord Party, also set up a statewide structure  to pursue his then governorship aspiration while in PDP. Ochei is also collapsing his structure into the APC.   There are equally former commissioners, other top government appointees and PDP stalwarts who  have joined us or are warming up to do so.

As it affects Chief Ogboru,  there was a controversy which saw his party, through its state Chairman, Chief Tony Ezeagwu, denying LP’s  involvement in any merger talks with the APC or any intention to do so. The party even  went as far as suspending Ogboru and a number of other members. How do you overcome this threat to your  merger talks?

O’tega Emerhor

To start with, LP got it wrong. APC was never in any merger talks. Mergers don’t take  place at the state level. In any case, APC merger with other parties ended in July 2013 when the party was  born. The discussion with Ogboru/Labour was to fuse his LP structure in Delta  into the APC. They are to join the APC, not merge. Two, it is common knowledge that Ogboru, with  his group, is the soul of the  LP in Delta. There was no tangible LP until Ogboru led the then DPP members to populate Labour and there will be no LP once Ogboru  and his group leaves the party as it’s bound to happen.

Obviously, Chief Tony Ezeagwu’s  real intent is out to halt the emergence of a more robust and formidable  APC in Delta. This is a time-weakened political tactic. We  at  the APC are not falling for it. We  know the purported controversy is contrived, so we are going ahead with our arrangements with Ogboru and his people. Be reminded that Ogboru has resigned from  the LP  and together with his people formed a new group known as Light of Labour. This  is how we will relate with them going forward.

To the larger Delta APC, how  welcoming are these arrangements with Ogboru and Light of Labour, against reports that the  existing APC State Executive Committee (EXCO) is to be dissolved to give way to a  Caretaker Committee that will accommodate the new entrants?

That is not true. Our existing EXCO will not be dissolved until new congresses  are held in  future. Delta will not be different. Across the  country, individuals and groups are joining the APC daily and  affected state EXCO are not  dissolved. What the APC in Delta did was to set up a Welcoming Committee to  handle all issues of individuals and groups wanting to join. The nine-man committee is headed  by Hon Fred Okpowhoro. However, in recognition and appreciation of the capacity each individual or  group is bringing into the party, as in the case of Ogboru, Ochei and others who are bringing in strong  groups and impacts, the committee is empowered to reach arrangements that will provide  them comfort and sense of belonging and to let them have a say in the affairs of the party.

How does the party plan to achieve these ‘accommodation and comfort’ for the new members without offending existing members?

A key arrangement by the party is to put in place a Leadership Council with membership from existing and new entrants. We are looking at an expanded caucus  of the party to accommodate new entrants. This will be done at the state, council and ward levels to ensure that a high level of integration is achieved throughout the state. This organ will act to  accommodate all views and work in harmony with the state, LGA and ward EXCOs to entrench the party. Further  arrangement involves setting aside minimum two weeks for intensive  registration exercise for new entrants.

What’s the timeline for making all this arrangement happen?

In a week or two from now, the expanded State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party will meet to approve the arrangement reached with groups joining the party; in particular, the Ogboru,  Ochei and PDP groups. At that meeting,   timetable for welcoming the new entrants will also  be approved, including the period for intensive new entrants registration, visit to  the  national leadership of our party, and a grand rally to receive the new members and groups. In touch with  our party at the national level,. the indications we are getting  is that this total package will likely happen in June.

How unified is Delta APC as  you prepare to receive the new members? Chief Adolo Okotie Eboh’s faction already expressed exception to these moves?

We have only one APC in Delta. We do not have any faction. The EXCO headed by  Prophet Jones Erue, is the only one duly recognised by the party at the national level. Yes,  Chief Adolo heads a group consisting mainly of his former executives in the defunct ACN that merged to become  APC. What we know is that he went to court to challenge his loss at the state congress held in  2014 that saw the emergence of the current EXCO. The case is currently at the Appeal Court. No known  leader or party stalwarts are with him other than a few of his old ACN EXCO.