Asaba Protest: Labour Party Merely Seeking Optical Relevance—Dan Ossai

<h4>Asaba Protest<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that Delta State Peoples Democratic Party&comma; PDP has dismissed a protest march by Labour Party in the State Capital&comma; Asaba&comma; on Monday&comma; July 8&comma; 2024 in which it complained about the arrangements ahead the local council poll&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to a statement signed by Engineer Dan Ossai&comma; State Secretary&comma;PDP&comma; Delta State&comma; the party said it has received reports about the protest where Labour spokespersons tabled a list of demands and grievances ahead of the July 13&comma; Delta State Local Government Elections&comma; including the conduct of free and fair elections and the announcement of results at polling units&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The demands&comma; according to the statement were tabled before the State Commissioner of Police&comma; the State Chairman of Delta State Independent Electoral Commission &lpar;DSIEC&rpar; and the DSS&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Responding&comma; PDP described that protest as mere exercise to seek optical relevance by Labour Party that is ill prepared for the council poll&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement is partly reproduced below&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>We are indeed amazed that while the PDP has been fully busy&comma; meticulously fulfilling all the electoral processes and organizing comprehensive&comma; colourful and carnival-like campaigns rallies with massive turn-outs across all the Local Governments in the State&comma; in adherence to the stipulated timelines of the timetable for the Local Government election released by <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">DSIEC&comma;<&sol;a> the Labour Party has instead&comma; decided to muster and channel its energies and lean resources into organizing a protest march to complain about the conduct of an election that they are glaringly unprepared for and are not even ready or equipped to fully participate in&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Delta PDP has always embarked on broad-based&comma; robust&comma; all encompassing and all inclusive rallies&comma; as well as mop-up&comma; door-door mosquito campaigns ahead of every election&comma; while the opposition has often busied itself with complaints and protests instead of campaigning to Deltans and selling their candidates and manifestos to the people&comma; thus&comma; this Labour Party protest is a mere diversionary and digressive smokescreen to seek visibility and some sort of optical relevance&comma; which is absolutely tangential&comma; immaterial&comma; insignificant and of no consequence whatsoever to the conduct and outcome of the election&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>It is the people who will vote&semi; the same people that have turned up enmasse for our campaign rallies in all Local Governments and Wards since campaigns commenced&comma; while the opposition&comma; which has failed woefully to organize even the modicum of a serious&comma; proper and robust campaign rally&comma; is rather busy marching up and down in protest and crying wolf where none exist&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>We are therefore inviting the Labour Party and indeed all other opposition parties&comma; to our Mega Campaign Rally on Wednesday&comma; July 10&comma; 2024&comma; to witness the overwhelming turn out of joyful&comma; happy and excited Deltans from all the three Senatorial Districts in the State&comma; as we hold the grand finale of our campaign for the forthcoming July 13 Council Election and once again consolidate our claim and declaration that Delta is PDP and PDP is Delta&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;