Election: Clark blesses Delta LP gov candidate, Pella

Elder statesman and leader of the Pan‑Niger Delta Forum, Edwin Clark, has given his blessings to Labour Party governorship candidate Ken Pella in Delta State. Clark made the declaration during a courtesy visit to Pella’s residence in Abuja on Monday. He said, “My hope is that whoever becomes governor of Delta State—my home state—should be straightforward, competent, respected and of good character, not someone who will ‘eat’ our money at the expense of the state. Nothing can prevent me from giving my blessing, so God will guide you. You will have my blessings, and my sons are in the field; whoever follows the process and wins is my governor.”

When fielded with questions from journalists, the governorship candidate noted that this election season differs from previous ones because power now resides with the people, and the Labour Party’s chances are bright thanks to popular support. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had rescheduled the governorship and state House of Assembly elections from March 11 to March 18 after litigation by the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidates, who sought court permission for their lawyers to inspect the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) amid controversies following the presidential and National Assembly election results.

Pella maintained that the Labour Party’s prospects in the March 18 governorship election are very strong, but he lamented that INEC acted with impunity by failing to transmit the presidential election results in accordance with the Electoral Act of 2022. Mocking the ruling APC in the state—defeated by his party in the presidential election—he said Clark’s blessing was more than words. “The chances of the Labour Party are very bright in Delta, and we all know that in the last election the PDP, the ruling party in Delta, was beaten for the first time by an opposition party. This election cycle is different; power resides with the people. Our chances are bright because we believe the people are solidly behind us. We will win this election fair and square.

“We had no fear going into the last election; with the new Electoral Act and BVAS, we felt secure. INEC promised us several times, but they did things we did not expect. They acted with impunity and, contrary to the law, did not transmit the results as required. We will not let that happen again. We are prepared for them this time.”