…as Emerhor, Ojougboh battle to control party machinery
All is not well within the fold of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State as leaders of the party are now locked in a battle over the campaigns for the January 6, 2018 local government council elections in the state.
The crisis currently rocking the APC in the state bears on the disagreement between its leaders concerning whether the party should embark on campaigns for the forthcoming council polls or not.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the two leaders of the party in the state, Olorogun Otega Emerhor, who had been the financier of the APC in Delta State since inception, and Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who recently joined the party from the Peoples Democratic Party, were currently at loggerheads over the strategy that the opposition party should adopt in the run-up to the LG polls.
Since Ojuogboh feels he is bigger than the party, he is on his own
Emerhor and Ojuogbo don’t see eye to eye on the handling of the campaigns of the APC for the council polls, according to insiders.
According to a source, who pleaded anonymity, the disagreement between Emerhor and Ojuogbo has continued to worsen and may deal a big blow to the chances of the APC in the state during the LG poll.
The source told our correspondent that Ojuogbo was not happy with the alleged highhandedness adopted by Emerhor in issues relating to the leadership of the APC in the state, especially his opposition to his appeal for the inauguration of the campaigns ahead of the scheduled local government polls.
About three weeks ago, the Delta State chapter of the APC had ruled out campaigns in all the local government areas as a conscious strategy to shield its alleged fractionalisation arising from a clash of interests.
But Ojuogbo, who was said to be so desperate to test-run his political might on the battlefield, vowed to dare Emerhor’s by not heeding his directive for sectional campaigns for the council polls.
The situation, according to our source, underscored Emerhor’s position in the state chapter of the APC, branding Ojougboh as an outlaw ready to undermine the opposition party’s rules and regulations in pursuit of his personal agenda.
Emerhor, who had been fighting a cold war with Ojougboh, was said to have withheld funds, which Ojougboh had banked on for the execution of his planned local government election campaign for the party.
But Emerhor’s reason for withholding the fund, as revealed by the source, was to prevent Ojougboh and his group from exposing the alleged disunity within Delta APC if the proposed campaign is held.
