BY
MICHAEL TIDI
While it is said that there must be an end to litigation in any dispute, there must equally be an end to electioneering in any political contest. In Delta state, losers have emerged just as winners have been officially declared. In the aftermath of the election, it is expected that all aggrieved persons should approach the tribunal to seek redress. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case with the opposition parties in the state. Instead of confining themselves to seeking justice at the tribunal, they have decided to extend their case to the court of public opinion, where they continue to unleash vitriol against the Delta State Governor. While we shall leave the former to lawyers, their denigration of the person of the Governor should not go without some apt response.
While one had thought the losers of the election would take advantage of the olive branch extended to them by His Excellency, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, during his victory speech by, at least constituting themselves into a credible opposition that is committed to constructive criticism of government policies, what they have busied themselves regurgitating since losing the election last are pointless rhetoric, empty sloganeering and cock and bull storytelling that dominated their campaign in the run up to the elections. While the unofficial spokesmen of the opposition may prefer to pile blatant lies and heap unfounded accusations on the Governor purely for political consideration, those who really know him all over the state can easily see through these unwarranted preoccupations of an opposition that is increasingly exposing itself as a group of bad losers. What is by far more important to the future of good governance in the state is the fact that the masses who trooped out en masse to vote for Senator Okowa, know who they voted for and their minds cannot be poisoned against their choice.
If one were to offer candid advice to the opposition in Delta State, they would fare better by not dissipating what little energy and resources they have left in contesting a free and fair election that was attested to as vividly credible by everyone including members of the opposition themselves. It is always sad to lose but it is a sign of maturity to take losing in good faith and strategize for the next elections instead of distracting the government through endless litigations. Ideally, now is the time to join hands with the Governor in moving the state towards the path of development. As recently observed by the erudite columnist, Dr. Femi Aribisala, the All Progressives Congress, APC should be satisfied with the 22 states it has won, many of which were won in very controversial circumstances instead of greedily trying to capture more states from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP through the courts or by trying to deny PDP governors their justly derived mandates by instigating unwarranted impeachment moves as we have been observing in Ekiti State of recent.
Delta State has always been a PDP state and there just is no way APC or Labor Party should expect to be able to win in the state. In the final analyses, we are all Deltans regardless of party affiliation and given the nature of Senator Okowa who is famous for carrying everybody along and being fair to all Deltans, even the opposition has a prominent role to play in moving the state forward. We cannot afford to deny his administration the peace of mind needed to effectively rule and bring the dividends of democracy to all Deltans in this new dispensation. Endless litigation and unnecessary mudslinging has been the bane of development in the state in the past and all patriotic Deltans have a stake in ensuring that this ugly trend does not continue forever in a state badly in need of peace and smooth operation of governance.
What all Deltans should be confident about as regards Senator Okowa’s government is that he is committed to their welfare and quite determined to reciprocate the immeasurable goodwill they extended to him by voting him across all tribes, Senatorial zones and local government areas of the state. So eager is the Governor to lead with love and humility that he has promised to be the Governor of all Deltans including the handful of those who did not vote for him. As we say in PDP, there is enough room for all under the umbrella of the only party in the country that is not owned by a single individual.

….TIDI, Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on News Media.

I am not against your party ok but there is always rooms for other party incase where one particular party fails ok