Delta Community Including PDP Members Reject Atiku/Okowa Candidacy, Drive Away Campaign Team
Adedokun Waliyu 
Less than two weeks before the 2023 general elections, some residents of Asaba-Ase community, Ward 7, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta state and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the ward, have rejected the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa.
The community and some PDP members in the area rejected Atiku and Okowa on Wednesday and chased away the Atiku/Okowa campaign team. They also prevented the team from gaining access to the community to campaign.
It was gathered that on receiving the news that the PDP campaign team was coming to the community to campaign for Atiku and Okowa, the people, mainly PDP members, mobilised both women and youths and went straight to the entrance of the community with leaves and placards to barricade the road, preventing any member of the campaign team and their vehicles to enter the community.
It was gathered that as soon the people sighted the PDP campaign team, they drove them away with stones and sticks while chanting anti-Atiku/Okowa songs.
Some of the aggrieved members of the community told SaharaReporters that since the inception of the Okowa-led government, the community has not benefited anything from it.
They also accused the governor of not visiting the community since he was elected but that all of a sudden, because of the general elections, his government remembered them.
One of the aggrieved PDP members from the community who simply identified himself as Chinedu, vowed that because of Okowa, the party will fail in the area, especially in the presidential, National Assembly and the House of Assembly elections.
“We as a community, we have decided never to vote for Atiku because of the heartless Okowa. Ask Okowa what has the Asaba-Ase community benefited from his over seven years government?
“Okowa is too wicked and heartless to the plights of the people. Because he needs our support now, all of a sudden his people are coming to visit us.
“We don’t have roads, no good health care, no good drinking water, no good school, we are suffering. We drink from the dirty River Niger. Our only access road collapsed during last year flood and till date, no road to pass. Go and see how we use planks and woods to temporary fix the collapsed road, you will weep for us.
“We the PDP members in this community have cursed Okowa, he will never taste that presidency. Okowa is too wicked. Just look at the way and manner he is treating the civil servants, retired civil servants and pensioners in the state.
“Is that the kind of a person you want us to give our votes to; God forbid? PDP will fail woefully because of Okowa. When we said they will never enter our community we meant it and that was how we chased all of them away.
We have rejected Atiku/Okowa. Let’s see how Okowa will become the vice president of our country with his wicked heart,” the visibly angry community resident said.
