Delta State professionals, operating under the aegis of Coalition of Professional Groups in Delta State, have endorsed the candidacies of Atiku Abubakar and Sheriff Oborevwori for the 2023 Presidential and governorship elections, respectively.
The Delta State Professionals, in a statement signed by their State Chairman, Rev . Barr Godwin Adolor, and State Secretary, Engr. (Sir) Jude Mgbeze said their endorsement was based on the commitment of the teams of Atiku/Okowa and Sheriff/Onyeme to ensure emergence of governments of technocrats in Nigeria and in Delta State, respectively.
The statement said their antecedents and past records justify the fact that they have been tested and found worthy in achieving excellent performances, using well seasoned professionals.
Delta State professionals therefore appealed to Deltans and other Nigerians to ensure that they vote massively for Atiku Abubakar and Sherrif Oborevwori in this year’s elections.
According to the Delta State professionals, the performance of APC federal government for the past seven years plus has been disastrous and the party is fielding a Muslim – Muslim ticket at a time that the country is deeply divided along various fault-lines (ethnicity, tribalism, religion, etc), that have the tendency of instigating internal strife, if not well handled.
“The country is also back into another avoidable debt trap after being rescued in the past by an Economic team led by Atiku Abubakar, when he was a former Vice President of the country.
“We are strongly convinced that the best team for the job of rescuing and resetting Nigeria at this critical moment is the combination of Atiku Abubakar and Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
“Their various past performances and democratic credentials put them poles ahead as the team with the potential to weave together all the tendencies that define our diversity as a nation,”
The Professionals further said, “In Delta, Sheriff Oborevwori remains the longest serving Speaker of the House of Assembly, a man of proven integrity and with ability to always harmonize contending interests without compromising performance.
“Teamed up with a well established technocrat and professional, Sir Monday Onyeme, there is no other team that can continue with the sterling performance of Okowa in Delta State and improve on it.
“We want to put on record that our endorsement of Atiku/Okowa and Sheriff/Onyeme was after a long and painstaking consultation among the various professional groups in Delta state and it is coming almost so late in time because all shades of opinion had to be considered and given enough time to be well ventilated.
“Our supports for Atiku/Okowa and Sheriff/Onyeme are therefore products of deeply thought out and well analysed researches on the various presidential and governorship candidates jostling to rule Nigeria and Delta state respectively come 2023.
“We want to make it clear that we are neither spokespersons for Atiku/Okowa team nor so for the Sheriff/Onyeme team but rather we are a coalition of concerned professionals in Delta state that have deemed it fit to contribute to public opinion on the best way forward for Nigeria and our dear Delta state.
“We are therefore not to delve into issues that might have been raised against these teams, politically, but will leave such for the appointed spokespersons to handle.
“We are focused on assisting Nigerians and Deltans select the best teams based on integrity, proven democratic credentials and past performances, especially in collaboration with seasoned technocrats and professionals,”
The Professionals added that a deep and unbiased appraisal of the period that Atiku served as Vice President and head of the Economic team will disclose a man with excellent relationship Management with top professionals in governance, leading to excellent management of the economy and ability to pull Nigeria out of the worst debt trap the country ever faced and repositioned her as credit worthy.
“That credit worthiness have been severely abused by the APC-led federal government and the country needs to be rescued and reset again.
“We need not go into details about Atiku’s far reaching and excellent democratic credentials revealed by unimpeachable relationships with state governors and legislators when he was Vice President and therefore his ability to save Nigeria from what would have been an undeserving precedent of a presidential third term.
“Atiku is a proven democrat and performer and has a core professional and a leader who always did as he promised to his people, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa (the Ekwueme of Delta state), as his running mate.
“We call on Nigerians and all professionals, in particular, to vote massively for this team,” they added.
“For Delta state we have a well seasoned and longest serving Speaker (Sheriff Oborevwori) as governorship candidate, supported by a well known professional (Monday Onyeme) as running mate.
“Nigerians are aware of the 2018 invasion of the Senate with thugs and mace running incident and we don’t need to say anything further because Delta State has grown beyond such personalities.
“We call on all well meaning Nigerians and Deltans in particular, to vote massively for these wonderful teams because the task to rescue Nigeria from another disastrous descent into a terrible economic and political abyss is NOW. We need to rescue and reset Nigeria very urgently,” the statement read in full.
