Onojeghuo, who made the rebuttal in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, fingered a former chieftain, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who was recently expelled from the party as being behind the allegation.
The state APC image maker was reacting to Monday’s petition to the president by the State APC Secretary, Michael Inana; Delta North Chairman, Tom Onah; South Chairman, Nelson Ogharama and Central Chairman, Michael Orunefe.
He said, “The attention of the Delta State APC has been drawn to an utterly disgusted, scornful and most insidious petition addressed to the president by a traitorous and slanderous group led by the expelled and disgraced former member of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, which is diabolically calculated to embarrass and ridicule the person of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. It is important to emphasise that the sponsor of this scandalous petition was recently unceremoniously expelled from the APC for his ignoble acts of anti-party activities and treacherous dealings with opposition parties.
“The APC in Delta State categorically states that the signatories of the obnoxious petition in question are not members of the state executive committee of the party as claimed in their letter. They are known PDP members in Delta State who were recruited by Ojougboh for the purpose of executing his nefarious agenda of cheap blackmail.
“We urge His Excellency to ignore the rantings of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and his gang of detractors. They are unnecessary distractions to your onerous task of nation-building ahead.”
In Monday’s petition to Tinubu, Inana alleged that Omo-Agege lured suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, into the APC presidential primary to derail the president’s ambition.
Among other things, the statement also said that on the night of the APC Convention, Delta delegates were instructed by the former deputy senate president to vote against Tinubu, adding that as God would have it, the former Lagos State Governor won the primary convincingly.
The Delta APC spokesman, however, refuted the allegation, saying the signatories of the petition are nothing more than ‘bedroom executives’ of Ojougboh who are yet to come to terms with his ‘inglorious expulsion from the party.’
Onojeghuo said, “To state that it was Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who persuaded Godwin Emefiele to join the presidential race is to regale the nation with a tale as told by an idiot. We trust that Mr President himself knows the truth in the story of Emefiele’s foray into politics. Ojougboh who is no longer a member of our party and his band of collaborators are party refuseniks and dissidents being used for levying vengeance, hatred and running down our governorship candidate Omo-Agege.
He added, “There is no doubt that Ojougboh is devilishly determined to achieve his diabolic purpose of impersonating and disparaging the legally recognized state executive committee led by Omeni Sobotie and Omo-Agege in order to deceitfully secure appointments for himself and his dissident co-conspirators.
“Delta State APC insists therefore that these men are traitors and impostors who did not work for or make any meaningful contributions to the party during elections. They set up parallel structures and contact groups which worked against the success of APC candidates in Delta State. These facts have all been proven in the evidence presented to the NEC of our great party which led to the final expulsion of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh from the APC.”
