PDP Dismisses Labour Party’s Protest March in Asaba
ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the protest march organized by the Labour Party in Asaba on Monday, July 8, 2024. The protest was held to call for a free and fair Local Government Election scheduled for Saturday, July 13, 2024.
In a statement signed by the State Secretary, Engr. Dan Ossai, the PDP expressed astonishment at the Labour Party’s approach. During the protest, Labour Party spokespersons presented a list of demands and grievances, calling for the conduct of free and fair elections and the announcement of results at polling units. These demands were presented to the State Commissioner of Police, the State Chairman of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC), and the DSS.
In the word of the Delta State PDP: “While the PDP has been fully busy, meticulously fulfilling all the electoral processes and organizing comprehensive, colourful and carnival-like campaign rallies with massive turn-outs across all the Local Governments in the State, in adherence to the stipulated timelines of the timetable for the Local Government election released by DSIEC, the Labour Party has instead, decided to muster and channel its energies and lean resources into organizing a protest march to complain about the conduct of an election that they are glaringly unprepared for and are not even ready or equipped to fully participate in,” the PDP stated.
The PDP emphasized its consistent efforts in organizing broad-based, robust, all-encompassing, and inclusive rallies, alongside mop-up and door-to-door mosquito campaigns ahead of every election. They criticized the opposition for focusing on complaints and protests rather than campaigning to Deltans and promoting their candidates and manifestos. “This Labour Party protest is a mere diversionary and digressive smokescreen to seek visibility and some sort of optical relevance, which is absolutely tangential, immaterial, insignificant and of no consequence whatsoever to the conduct and outcome of the election,” the PDP added.
Highlighting their confidence in the support of the people, the PDP remarked, “It is the people who will vote; the same people that have turned up en masse for our campaign rallies in all Local Governments and Wards since campaigns commenced, while the opposition, which has failed woefully to organize even the modicum of a serious, proper and robust campaign rally, is rather busy marching up and down in protest and crying wolf where none exist.”
The PDP concluded by inviting the Labour Party and all other opposition parties to their Mega Campaign Rally on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. They urged them to witness the overwhelming turnout of joyful, happy, and excited Deltans from all three Senatorial Districts in the State, as they hold the grand finale of their campaign for the forthcoming July 13 Council Election. “Once again, we consolidate our claim and declaration that Delta is PDP and PDP is Delta,” the statement concluded.
