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A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State, Chief Edwin Oboh, has called on the Interim Executive Committee led by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, to urgently step into the cold war among the leadership of the party in Delta State to bring the leaders on a roundtable to foster peace and unity noting that irrespective of the pretence, the party remains sharply divided among those he described as critical stakeholders in the state.

The chieftain made this call in a statement issued in Abuja, Tuesday at the heels of a stakeholders meeting where issues of common interests especially that of repositioning the party to take over power from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led administration in the oil-rich state come 2023.

He noted that the national leadership should not leave the state APC alone but should ensure peace reigns among all the leaders of the party across the board.

Oboh, a reputable retired civil servant noted that the Deputy Senate President, DSP Ovie Omo-Agege, is not doing his best to unite everyone in the party stressing that the second term senator is autocratic a tendency he maintained will further destabilize the party and cost it victory in the state come 2023 but added that, the intervention of the National leadership is needed to achieve more results in terms of bringing all the “big names” back to the mainstream without anyone left out.

The APC, the Ika-born Chief noted, was bigger than one man and shouldn’t be left to the whims and caprices of the DSP alone adding that the party has grown beyond what should be built around a turn-coat lawmaker who has so much reputational baggage which in itself he noted, is a stigma that should be taken seriously.

According to Chief Oboh, no amount of subterfuge would make any party faithful believe that names like Dr Nnamaka Ali, Hon. Victor Ochei, Chief Great Ogboru, Festus Keyamo (SAN) and a host of others can be undermined in the state noting that expectations are high and these he said are the reasons the National body should intervene for the party leaders to come to the negotiation table to build a formidable force against the common enemy of the people – the ruling PDP in Delta State.

The chieftain stated that all is not well with APC in the state until the leaders agree to forge a common front and work together as an indivisible entity for the progress of the party in the state adding that if well harnessed there are chances that the broom party could win the 2023 governorship election but not without unity of purpose.

Pointedly, Chief Oboh stressed that the man angling to take power in 2023 from the Delta Central Senatorial District should be examined by all; stating that, from the benefit of hindsight, the lawmaker is a traitor, arrogant, deceitful, and at the same time, wicked and on the account of his traits, the leaders of APC should thread softly before we collectively give power to an ‘Idi Amin’ who is bereft of respect and honour for leaders and followers but was quick to add that most leaders who are shut out are equally suffering from what he described as huge character deficit.

He noted that leaders in the party are working at cross purpose against one another, a development he said had balkanised the party so badly creating factions among followers whose loyalty goes to individuals and not the party based on which he is calling the national body to quickly wade in before its too late.

The chieftain maintained that the ruling party in the state is not resting on its oars to enslave the citizenry perpetually by ensuring that moles are planted in the APC to cause acrimony and this he stated had been the reason behind the unending power tussle and conflict of interests that he said is tearing the party apart adding that the ruling PDP is working towards achieving what he described as Wike’s Rivers Agenda of impeding the party against participating in the guber contest come 2023 by using a disgruntled member of “our party.”

“The call for the Interim Executive Committee, to wade into the cold war among the leaders is germane. We need a united party to go into the elections in 2023. As it is now, our party is divided in the state due to poor conflict resolution mechanisms and if anything, the National body must ensure a strong, united and reliable party before and after the Congress.

“As a leader of the party in the state, I am worried that our torchbearers are not working together, they are not forthcoming with unity of purpose. Conflict of interests is the major undoing of the party and unless Governor Buni wades in, we may remain in this dilemma into the election giving the ruling PDP the undeserved opportunity of perpetually growing and developing abject poverty in the state. Deltans may not be able to survive another eight years of PDP at the state’s helm of affairs therefore, wresting power from the looters and squanderers of our commonwealth should be our major concern.

“Everyone of the leaders should cut down on excessive pride and arrogance, give peace a chance and embrace selflessness as exuded by the Interim Chairman; come together, work together and win together. Rescuing Deltans from the grip of the PDP should be our major priority and not what comes to us individually,” Chief Oboh maintained.