Ahead of Monday’s governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a frontline aspirant in Delta State, Sir Tony Obuh yesterday expressed optimism that he would emerge the party’s flag-bearer at the end of the exercise.

Speaking through the Director General of his campaign organisation, Bar. Fred Majemite, Obuh also debunked rumours that he was doling out N1 million each to delegates for the election, saying that his campaign was being sustained by the goodwill of people.

“We have campaigned and worked hard for victory. We have traversed the whole of Delta State campaigning for votes from delegates and we have gone round again meeting the delegates.

“Apart from that, if you look at the credentials of Obuh, you will see that he is the man to beat. He has been a civil servant for 33 years and in eight of those years, he was a Permanent Secretary when he spent seven years in Government House.

“In other words he has been involved in the formulation and implementation of government policies. And during this period, he worked in both private and public sectors which has exposed him to the outside world and this gives him an edge over others.

“Obuh is not just a politician, he is a politician of high note and somebody who understands what governance is all about,” Majemite told journalists in Asaba.

Majemite who said Obuh would desire the support of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the race to the primaries, noted however that there was no iota of truth in the rumours that Uduaghan was behind Obuh’s aspiration.

“The governor does not have the power to impose anybody even though he is the leader of the party in the state. PDP is very democratic in all our operations. What the governor is trying to do rather is to create the enabling environment for the aspirants to market themselves,” he said.

Also The 56 members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B made up of all higher institutions of learning in the South-South and South-East, have unanimously endorsed Tony Obuh for the Delta State Governorship election in 2015.

The endorsement was made after an extra ordinary emergency meeting at Agbor on 1st and 2nd of December 2014 in Benin calling all students in Delta State and Nigeria as well as those in the Diaspora to massively support him.

The deputy coordinator of NANS Zone B, Comrade Richard Ekutu in a resolution, stated that “after a careful, thorough evaluation and analysis of the track records of all aspirants from all parts of Delta state, the apex Student Union body in the zone has adopted the best candidate whom they will support as the next governor of Delta State.

“After spending 30 years as a civil servant diligently and loyally without any political blemish, we believe that he is the right choice for students and workers as well as the general public in Delta State to vote for in 2015 gubernatorial election” adding that “Tony Obuh who have a clean record of service during his 30 years as civil servant understand the plight of civil servants better which include workers in tertiary institutions in Delta State.

The NANS also disclosed plans to put machinery in place to safeguard their votes in the next general elections and will not vote for those who have misrepresented them in the past.