Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has said that the governorship ticket for the 2019 election has not been zoned to any senatorial district in the state.
The party said the contest for the ticket is not the exclusive preserve of any zone but that eligible aspirants, irrespective of senatorial zones, would not be restricted from the primaries that will be free, fair and credible.
Chairman of the party in the state, Prophet Jones Erue, in a statement made available to our correspondent, on Tuesday morning, in Asaba, said the APC is a democratic party, adding the leadership has never contemplated zoning the governorship.
“The APC in Delta state has made tremendous progress towards building a united and formidable front in recent times. We are determined to sustain our good successes as we match towards 2019 to defeat the PDP in Delta for its unprecedented bad governance that has made Delta a laughing stock everywhere.
“It must be noted that we are not running this party on a zonal basis but as a united party with a common objective of salvaging Delta state from several years of PDP misrule.
“On behalf of the state executive of our great party and all our leaders, I humbly ask our members to continue with confidence-building measures across the length and breadth of Delta state. The more harmony, the better,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Delta north senatorial district of the party has been clamouring that the ticket should be zoned to the area based on what it described the principle of equity, justice and fairness.
Rising from a crucial meeting at the country home of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in Onicha-Ugbo, party leaders in the zone insisted that the zone should be given the opportunity to complete the last four years of incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a nine-point communiqué signed by Engr. Hyacinth Enuha, the leaders said since the inception of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, the central and south senatorial districts have produced governors for two unbroken terms of eight years each.
The communiqué added that the APC is solidly on ground in Delta north, and that with the support of the central and south, it can present an acceptable candidate with the capacity to defeat the incumbent governor in the 2019 election.