By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN—A Niger Delta Youth leader, Mr Paul Bebenimibo, yesterday, warned that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State may lose Warri South West in the forthcoming 2011 elections, if the leaders of the party impose candidates on the people.

The House of Assembly aspirant, who also expressed worries over what he described as the reluctance of the Itsekiri in the area to cede the House of Assembly position, which they have been occupying since 1999, to the Ijaws, denied rumours that he had stepped down in the race, saying that “the rumour is being peddled by those who are scared of due process and free and fair primaries.”

Bebenimibo, who spoke to Vanguard, in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday, lamented that  “this election is very important to the people of Warri South West because over the years, they have not been truly represented.

Those who were handpicked were actually representing themselves. They have not taken the problems of the people of the area to discuss in the House inspite of our numerous problems.

“I have bought my form on the platform of the PDP and we are waiting for the primaries. Today, Warri South West is a very rich local government area in the Niger Delta. The council contributs huge amounts of money to the coffers of the Federal Government due to the abundant oil in the area. So such a council needs better representation at the state House of Assembly,” he said.

Bebenimibo further narrated that “an Itsekiri man occupied the position between 1999_2003. Another Itsekiri man took over in 2003 and he is going to spend eight years and he is still trying to come back which is very unfair in any democratic setting because democracy has to do with equity and fair play. It will be unfair for the Itsekiris to say they want to continue to have that position and that is why I am in the race and I believe that the people will choose their leaders.

“But if the PDP made the mistake of imposing an unpopular person on the people, then they should be prepared to fail on the field. So I will advise that the leaders should be fair to all by not imposing any body in order to avoid failure at the general election.

Every body including President Goodluck Jonathan is campaigning vigorously for one man one vote, so I will appeal to our leaders to ensure that it is applied during the primaries” he stated.