Elections: For 16-years I declined PDP offers, Minister denies working against APC, Buhari

Minister of Niger Delta Usani Uguru Usani has denied reports in some quarters that he worked against his own party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the just concluded governorship election in Cross Rivers state.

Uguru said for 16 years, he rejected all the offers made to him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he became minister.

Usani challenged Nigerians and the media men to do independent research on who actually worked against the party during the election.

According to him, the APC National Vice Chairman, South-south Hilliard Eta, who made the allegation against him did not win even a unit for the party while he, (Usani) delivered not only his unit but the entire ward and the area council.

“Find out if the APC National Vice Chairman, Hilliard Eta, won one unit for the president or the party during the election.”

The minister said having failed to stop him legally and procedurally, some persons adopted cowboy method, which he believed would cause more crisis for the party.

Speaking with newsmen Tuesday in Abuja, Pastor Usani said he has replied a petition sent to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Hilliard Eta South-south leadership of APC.

A copy of his reply to the petition obtained by Blueprint stated: “I am not aware that the party has ever invited me to any meeting by any means. That I urged people not to vote for APC at any election is not true. My evidence is in the result which I produced.

“In each of the elections of the President, Senate and House of Representatives, I delivered the two council wards of my . community with more than 4,000 votes against PDP which scored less than 1,000 votes. Even in 2015, I delivered similar results.

“The claim in this petition is a defence mechanism to placate them and divert attention from their untoward activities. Hilliard Eta, the party’s Vice Chairman South-South, won no unit in his council wardWard 5 in Calabar Municipality.”

The minister said some of the signatories to the petition against st him “subscribed to supporting the PDP Presidential Candidate and their personal ambitions, which created much confusion. The selection of Abuja residents, who pose as owners of the party by gaining patronage of the National Chairman, has some shameful undercurrents that I cannot pronounce in this document.

“Hilliard Eta’s perspective is the derivation of 2014 presidential convention which he failed to deliver his principal for which they fell out, while I was able to deliver votes for Mr. President. At present, pecuniary inducement has brought about their reconciliation.

“That I am working for PDP’s Ben Ayade is laughable. Cross River state indigenes know us by character. When I was politically fallow, I shunned every overture from PDP. It sounds ridiculous that anyone would allege that I am a PDP ally. Some of these signatories have gained from Ayade by proxy in contractual engagements,” Pastor Usani stated.

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