By Theophilus Keme
Nonetheless, like a wrestling contest, the one with the hardest blow in ring (court of law) always validates the winning title regardless.
When discussing politics in Delta state, it would be incomplete not to mention Michael Diden, also known as Ejele. He is widely recognized as a prominent politician and business mogul, known not only within the state but also beyond its borders.
Michael Diden also known as the people’s messenger or “Agugba One”, as fate may have it, once again stands as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Delta South Senatorial seat, following the recent tribunal decision on September 6th which led to the removal of APC’s Joel-Onowakpo and call for a rerun election.
Following the Delta South Senatorial election on February 25th, where APC’s Joel-Onowakpo was declared the winner, there have been alleged electoral violations and noticeable discrepancies that have come to light. This anyways is of no surprise, as all conducted elections within the 2022/2023 electoral year had all seemed to have similar if not same allegations of electoral violation, and these, nonetheless like a wrestling contest, the one with the hardest blow in ring (court of law) always validates the winning title regardless.
Honorable Michael Diden, representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) along with his team filed a petition before the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba, Delta State.
Their petition, dated and filed on March 17, 2023 led by his team of lawyers requested the tribunal to invalidate INEC’s declaration of Mr. Ewomazino Thomas Joel-Onowakpo; the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as Senator. They specifically sought an order from the tribunal to collate the election results in Warri South Local Government Area. And to it, had they been successful to get a rerun in the Warri south constituency were the voters were excluded during the collation of results.
Ejele and his team alleged that the election took place in all eight LGAs within the Delta South Senatorial District. However, they contended that INEC failed to incorporate the results from Warri South LGA in its final result calculation and the subsequent declaration of the APC as the winner of the senatorial election in the district.
The petitioners asserted that INEC’s decision, made despite protests from their agents, constituted a violation of the Electoral Act of 2022 and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines.
In the course of research for the making of this article and gathering information from various sources, allegations surfaced regarding Joel Onowakpo’s collaboration with the former Deputy Senate President; Ovie Omo-Agege who at that time was the APC gubernatorial candidate in the state.
These allegations suggested that concerted efforts were made to prevent the receipt of votes from Warri South at the Collation Centre in Oleh, the headquarters of Isoko South Local Government Area. Given Warri South’s significant number of registered voters, it was perceived that the fate of Michael Ejele could hinge on the inclusion of these votes.
Furthermore, it was alleged that the APC employed various means to obstruct the transportation process of these results, effectively nullifying the results from Warri South.
These actions, as alleged led to Joel the APC candidate being declared the winner of the Delta South Senatorial election with a total of 49,955 votes while PDP’s candidate; Michael Ejele, emerged as the first runner-up with a total of 47,656 votes, excluding the valid votes from Warri South.
Nonetheless, there are claims circulating within the political community that suggest there may be other factors at play in Ejele’s loss in the Senatorial bid. It is alleged that some of his fellow PDP party members harbored reservations about his victory, given the strained relationships he is believed to have fostered on his path to his current position.
Another assertion is that certain Delta PDP members are concerned that he could amass too much influence within the party, particularly considering Ejele’s current role as the National Chairman of the Delta Vanguard group.
With the rerun election in Warri South Constituency looming, will “Agugba One” have the final victory despite the challenges he faced from within his own party?
The supplementary election in Warri South Local Government Area of the state is set to take place within 90 days, and there is also the option to appeal the Court’s judgment of removal within the next 60 days from the date of the court order.
We wait….
Nonetheless like a wrestling contest, the one with the hardest blow in court of law always validates the winning title regardless.
