Concerned Stakeholders of Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State have condemned the letter written to the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu by persons claiming to speak for the people of Patani Local Government Area.
These concerned stakeholders in a statement jointly signed by Mr. Okoloko Carter, Dr. Godwin Amaze, Elijah Timbor, Mrs. Josephine Abeki and Ebi Ekperi said it became imperative for them to respond to the letter to make “clarifications for public interest to address the mischief the authors of the letter seek to achieve as it is imperative to set the records straight”.
The Pantani LG stakeholder said in the statement sent to Frontline News Online, that their findings showed the sponsor of the said letter to be Hon. Basil Ganagana, the immediate past Commissioner for Transportation in the state.
They alleged that the former Delta State government official, who resigned his appointment recently and purchased the nomination form to contest the Bomadi/Patani Federal constituency seat is the person behind the letter as so far, he is the only person from Patani Local Government area that has bought PDP’s nomination form.
The five representatives of Patani LGA stakeholders added that the said letter is “an attempt to hoodwink, cajole and mislead the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party in a bid to steal the mandate of the people through the back door by using unconstitutional and illegal means”.
The statement read in part: “Ganagana is from Patani Local Government area in Delta State and the LG is politically divided into North and South Zones. Basil Ganagana was elected into the Delta State house of assembly in 1999 and was there for four consecutive terms, a period of 16 years. While in the House, he was elected Deputy Speaker and eventually became the speaker of the State house of Assembly. He contested for the fifth term and lost to Hon. Timi Tonye at the party primaries. A loss he did not take lightly and mobilised his thugs and uncivilized supporters to disrupt the Delta State governor’s convoy during the Governor’s visit to patani in 2014 out of desperation. He went as far as damaging the vehicles of the Distinguished Senator James Manager.
“He contested for the House of Representatives seat in the 2018 and lost to Hon. Mutu Nicholas in the primaries. True to Basil’s character, he unleashed mayhem on perceived opponents and those that did not support his ambition”.
The group insisted on the current member of the House of Representatives saying in the statement: “Rt. Hon. Mutu, a former council chairman, a grassroots politician has won both primaries and general elections on the basis of his popularity and acceptance by the people and has never been imposed on the electorates at any point in time”.
The group advised Ganagana, “to shun the desperation of political office and stop preaching and threatening violence, campaign of calumny and the use of derogatory words against leaders of the party that have worked hard to build and sustain the party in the state”.
They also called on him to rather focus on his campaign and how to convince the delegates to vote for him at the primaries.
The group in the statement asked the former commissioner showcase his what he has been able to attract to the people while in the State house of Assembly as Deputy Speaker and Speaker in his 16 years in office, as this should be a precursor to his ambition to be in the National Assembly.
The Patani LG indigenes in backing the return of Mutu explained that in Nigeria and other democracies in the world, members of the legislature do not have tenure limit hence, individuals like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders stayed in the American Senate for several years.
They further called on the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, “to disregard the sponsor of the letter Basil Ganagana and his co travellers who are agents of destabilization and anarchy put together”, adding that those behind the letter have long been discovered to be members of the opposition party (APC), while others are civil servants with little or no electoral value.
They expressed confidence that the leadership of the PDP at the national, state, Local Government and ward levels are committed to conducting free, fair and credible elections which will produce a popular candidate that will win the general elections for the party and will not be swayed by the antics of an unpopular politician who wants to be handed the ticket on a platter of gold. “The people of Bomadi and Patani Federal Constituency know better and they deserve better”, the statement further read.
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