By Gabriel Efeduku

The leadership of the Ethiope West chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has described Chief Ighoyota Amori as a notorious political Profiteer in the Politics of Delta State, following his out burst against the daugther of his former leader and one time governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

In a communique issued at the end of an extraordinary meeting held on Sunday the 19th of January, 2025, at the country home of Chief Hope Abijor in Oghara, Delta State, was chaired by Chief Williams Makinde FCA, Ph.D.

The APC leaders clarified that the defection of Ibori’s daughter, Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, Chairman House Committee on NDDC, was backed by the law of the land.

The communique reads in parts; “We are therefore aghast at the recklessness and lack of facts carelessly displayed by Chief Ighoyota Amori, ‘a notorious political profiteer’, in his incendiary statement to the Press”.

“We are here to state very categorically that her defection is backed by the law of the land and very much in other. And most thankfully, our great party, the APC is the major beneficiary of PDP ineptitude and sheer recklessness as we continue to harvest more members from the ranks of the badly depleting PDP”.

He said; “Issues raised by the Chief Ighoyota Amori-led PDP group were exhaustively deliberated upon . At the end of its deliberations on the subjects raised, the following communique were issued as follow; 1. That the defection of Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu from the PDP to the APC was in line with the stipulated constitutional provisions, as the perennial leadership crises rocking the PDP at the national level have openly created different factions and divisions within the PDP , and this is to the knowledge of the general public.

2. “That it is only the speaker of the Federal House of Representatives that is constitutionally empowered or authorized to declare the seat of a defecting member vacant, should he be satisfied that the stipulated constitutional requirements for such defection are not met. Beyond that, only the law courts has the power to give pronouncements and not some beer parlour group gathering in their drinking joint in the name of a political party forum that should be making very reckless pronouncements as though they are now taking the place of Mr Speaker and the law court.

3. That Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu clearly stated her reasons for leaving the PDP in black and white in the letter addressed to the Speaker, Federal House of Representatives; the letter which was made available to the press.

4. That apart from the division at the national leadership of the PDP, she clearly stated the injustices serially meted out to her by the PDP leadership at both state and Local Government levels. Some of the cases known to so many and for which several petitions were done to the PDP leadership at both state and national levels include.

(a.) Her outright exclusion from PDP meetings and other engagements within the party, from the State and local government level down to the ward. This reflected in the last PDP LGA and Ward Congresses were she was outrightly sidelined, such that she was not given the room to make any single input in the process; not even in her immediate ward was she allowed a space as the leader of the PDP in Ethiope Federal Constituency as allowed by the PDP constitution and known party conventions and PDP standard practice.

The story was not in any way different with the local council elections which held around mid 2024. Rt. Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu alongside her supporters who turned out in their large numbers, matched through the streets of Ethiope West to protest her open vilification and humiliation on ….. and thereafter caused to be written several protest letters and petitions to both the state and national leadership of the PDP.

Several months after, the party at both state and national level did not deem it fit to take a look at the several petitions done to them.

(b.) Her opponent , who lost to her in the PDP primaries and later defected to another party to run against her in the general elections, got snuggled back to the PDP through the backdoor after loosing woefully in the general elections to Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu.

Shockingly, instead of being reprimanded and taken through PDP disciplinary processes for erring in his actions against the party, he got appointed by the Governor, against all known PDP rules and regulations, as the leader of the PDP in the Ogharefe zone where Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu hails from as a seating member of the House of Representatives and the highest ranking political officeholder under the banner of the PDP, not only from Ogharefe zone but Ethiope Federal Constituency.

(c.) When the state governor was giving out brand new SUVs to members of the National Assembly of the state extraction to support them in the discharge of the oversight functions,as is the usual practice , Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu was left out. Even all opposition federal lawmakers from the state were all given while Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu of the same PDP with the Governor till recently was denied for reasons that has not been explained.

(d.) Since her assumption of office , Rt Hon Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu has never at any time been allowed to take part in PDP caucuses both at state and LGA levels. Even in her immediate Federal Ward 7, she has since been completely ostracized from party affairs for no justifiable reason. And we wonder how any reasonable and forward-looking politician would ever survive under this very suffocating condition. It is tantamount to the proverbial case of beating up an innocent child over the sins that were never told to her, and yet expecting her not to cry. And curiously, you are now angry that she has cried out over the serious pain inflicted on her. Most unreasonable.!

“We are therefore aghast at the recklessness and lack of facts carelessly displayed by Chief Ighoyota Amori, a notorious political profiteer , in his incendiary statement to the Press”.

“We are here to state very categorically that her defection is backed by the law of the land and very much in other. And most thankfully, our great party, the APC is the major beneficiary of PDP ineptitude and sheer recklessness as we continue to harvest more members from the ranks of the badly depleting PDP”.

5. On the issue of the APC takeover of the Secretariat purportedly belonging to the PDP as alleged in Chief Amori’s press statement on behalf of the ill-fated Ethiope Federal Constituency PDP Forum, we wish to state as follows.

As a party, we do not have any need to join issue with the PDP and their group of court jesters as they claimed they are already heading for the law court.

We will surely meet them in court as a law-abiding party.

Those who signed the communique include; Chief Williams Makinde FCA, PhD, Chief Hope Abijor, Hon. Solomon Golley, Engr. Chief Abraham Bobor, Hon. William Deniran, Hon. Amughoro Efe, Hon. Chief Atumah Vincent, Hon. Chief Precious Adjaino.

 

Others are; Prince Charles Abutoh, Barr. Jude Fregene, Chief Wellington Oyibo, Hon. Agoda Save, Chief Awikpe Kelvin, Comr Ededey Favour, Comr James Ufuomanefe Isiosio, Chief Lucky Atumah, Hon. Odeh Festus, Chief Williams Jordan Omogaga, Hon. Agoda Anna, Hon. Madagwa Francis, Hon Akpodonor M. Ovie, Oseh Michael Oghenegueke and may more.