Major Urhobo youth groups in Delta State on Wednesday rejected the endorsement of Olorogun David Edevbie by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) Worldwide as its preferred governorship candidate for Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 governorship election in the State.
The groups under aegis of Coalition of Urhobo Youths (CUY), however, took a swipe at the President General of UPU, Olorogun Moses Taiga, for the endorsement.
They stressed that the endorsement did not enjoy the support of Urhobo youths, particularly those of Delta Central, whose turn iit s to produce Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s successor in the 2023 governorship election.
UPU had on Sunday endorsed Olorogun Edevbie, a former commissioner for finance in Delta State and ex-Principal Secretary to Late President Musa Yar’Adua, as Urhobo preferred governorship candidate for the ruling PDP in the State.
UPU in a statement signed by its President General, Olorogun Taiga and others, also charged Governor Okowa to support the candidature of Olorogun Edevbie, who also served as his Chief of Staff until recently, for the ticket of the PDP during their primaries.
The Olorogun Taiga-led UPU has been under fire since announcing the endorsement with many groups including Coalition of Urhobo Youths (CUY), faulting the Urhobo apex body for dabbling into politics.
However, CUY, a group comprising of Urhobo Youth Leaders Association (UYLA), Urhobo Youth Council (UYC), Urhobo National Youth Movement (UNYM) HOSTCOM Youths, Ex Agitators and UPU Youth Wing, disassociated themselves from the UPU endorsement.
Briefing journalists after an emergency meeting of the groups at Udu, Delta State on Wednesday, CUY called on Okowa to disregard the endorsement as it does not have the support of Urhobo youths who formed the majority of her population.
“Ordinary, we wouldn’t have bothered ourselves to respond to these set of selfish and greedy persons who claimed to have endorsed an aspirant against others which is any way ridiculously and laughable. The UPU is a socio-cultural organization of all Urhobo people worldwide, we cannot leave it to the hand of Moses Taiga,” chairman of Coalition of Urhobo Youths (CUY), Hon Isaac Omomedia, said at a briefing.
“The agenda they are pushing is aimed at destroying the Urhobo nation politically and we the youths will not accept such a dance of shame from our so called fathers. One expected that the UPU as the Umbrella body of all Urhobo must stand to be neutral to all her son provided the Governorship position come 2023 is rotated to Delta Central Urhobos.
“The action of the Moses Taiga is a pointer to destructive manipulation of Urhobo people since UPU is not a pan Delta group but for all Urhobo people irrespective of political party affiliation. One did not expect UPU to dabble into the internal affairs of any political party. This is one misstep too many and we cannot fold our arms to allow a self-serving gang of compromised, ineffective and irresponsible bodies of politicians drag the revered UPU down the mud of political idiocy and unpardonable infamy.
“We the youths would therefore want to appeal to all Deltans that what Moses Taiga and his co-travelers did, does not have the blessing of the Urhobo Youths and other meaning Urhobo Sons and Daughters. We believe in One Delta State as such all ethnic Nationality in the state will jointly select and elect an Urhobo son who is detribalized but a product of the political consensus and stand of all Deltans.
“We therefore alert all Deltans that the endorsement did not reflect the interest of the entire Urhobo people but that of a few self-serving individuals who are on a wild goose chase. We condemn in it’s entirety Moses Taiga actions which will never stand and is dead on arrival.”
