Pat Utomi emerges Delta APC faction candidate

Prof Pat Utomi has been declared winner and candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress for the 2019 governorship election in Delta State.

Utomi, president of the popular Lagos Business School, emerged the flagbearer of the APC at a parallel governorship primary after he polled 2,486 votes to defeat three other aspirants.

The former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, polled 801 as second while Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, a former National Deputy Chairman (South-South) of the Peoples Democratic Party got 368votes to come third while Chief Great Ogboru came fourth with 106 votes. A total of 3, 755 votes were cast by delegates.

The exercise which started on Sunday ended in the early hours of Monday following the declaration of results by the returning officer, Elder Favour Adibor in Asaba on Monday.

However, as of the time of filing this report, the second parallel governorship primary which is also holding in Asaba.

Utomi said his intent to run for the office of the governor of the Rivers State was to rescue the people living in the current state “worse than death”.

If you have a conscience and you watch a people live a fate worse than death, then your spirit must be on the verge of being broken. However, I stand today to say that all hope is not lost,” Utomi said in his declaration speech after submitting election forms at APC’s secretariat in Abuja last September.

He said the feedback he received encouraged him to embark on “journey to rescue Delta State from state capture that has impoverished the majority of our people and made the state a huge joke”.

Utomi, while lamenting the level of developments in the state despite being an oil-rich area, said his government will focus on growing the state economy, infrastructure. Education, health care, youth and women empowerment if elected governor.

“Delta State receives very huge allocations from the federation account, yet extreme poverty exists in the State. Little of these fiscal transfers from the federation account that enter the state circulate in the state,”

“In Delta State, my conscience kills me some more with the death from avoidable causes of every man, woman or child, due partly to poor healthcare in the State,”

He assured people of promoting and instituting good governance, fighting against corruption and run an inclusive government.