Delta LG Polls: Agbodobiri Community Petitions Gov Oborevwori, PDP Over Alleged Marginalization
By Ezekiel Kagbala
As the 2024 Local Government Council elections in Delta State beckon, the people of Agbodobiri, headquarters of Ogbolubiri-Mein kingdom in Burutu Local government Area have despatched a Save-Our-Souls (SOS) to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleging political marginalization.
The community urged the Governor and the party "to prevail on a political leader in the locality, Hon. Peter Asupa Forteta, to allow Agbodobiri to produce the councilor in the upcoming council polls".
In the petition jointly signed by Igwe Michael, Community Chairman, and King Edougha Ekpokpo Community General Secretary, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri on Tuesday, the community alleged that "Hon. Asupa is trying to truncate the gentleman arrangement put in place to rotate the councillorship between Egodor and Agbodobiri".
The petitioners lamented that "the people of Agbodobiri community have suffered political oppression under Hon. Asupa Forteta, who has given preference to Egodor in many areas, including primary elections, supervising councillors, adhoc delegates and other political appointments".
"Even the recently employed teachers by the State Government have benefitted only the Egodor community" they added.
The Agbodobiri community insisted that Asupa Forteta should be compelled "to give the councilorship slot to the person presented to the political ward leaders, which is Chief Ebakumor Kpokpo, to avoid disunity between the two sister communities,
Agbodobiri and Egodor".
The petition partly reads, "It has become expedient to write you as a community and peace loving people, reporting the bias and high-handedness of Hon. Asupa Forteta whose vengeful interest is to make sure that Agbodobiri community should not produce a councilor anymore after loosing his second term bid to return to the State House of Assembly, even though he got major votes from Agbodobiri.
"Since the creation of DSIEC Ward 15 in Burutu LGA, Agbodobiri and Egodor, there has been a gentlemen's agreement between the communities for zoning the councilorship.
"The first councillor was from Egodor, then a councillor from Agbodobiri, followed by another councillor from Egodor, and so on, based on the zoning formula.
"The immediate past councilor was from Egodor, and by following the zoning formula, it is now the turn of Agbodobiri to produce the next councilor.
"However, it appears that Hon. Asupa Forteta, a former House of Assembly member, is about to hijack the councilorship by giving it back to Egodor, despite the agreement.
"The whole Agbodobiri community has endorsed Chief Ebakumor Kpokpo to be their next councilor, and they are calling on the Governor of Delta State and other stakeholders to intervene in the matter to settle the issue amicably. "Hon. Asupa Forteta is the only one who is trying to break the agreement, while other political parties respect the zoning formula.
