Otega Emerhor, a leader of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state, was prevented from entering the
presidential villa in Abuja on Monday.
Security operatives at the pilot
gate of Nigeria’s seat of power refused to allow Emerhor to join the delegation
of the Urhobo stakeholders who paid a courtesy call on President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Buhari hosted the visitors at the
council chamber of the villa but Emerhor who put the event together was not
part of it.
A presidential source said he was
denied access to the villa because of the clash between his supporters and
those of Ovie Omo-Agege, senator representing Delta central.
 |
| Emerhor with Buhari at a programme |
Emerhor, an APC governorship candidate in the 2015 election, and Omo-Agege lead two different factions of APC in Delta.
The rivalry in the state played
up at Eagle Square, Abuja, while Buhari was delivering his speech on Saturday.
Trouble started when loyalists of
Emerhor reportedly teamed up with supporters of Victor Ochei, a former speaker
of the Delta state house of assembly, to attack those in the camp of Omo-Agege.
They dislodged the senator’s
supporters from the pavilion allocated to delegates from Delta and some of
Omo-Agege’s loyalists who initially put up resistance, sustained injuries in
the process.
|
| Delta APC members in show of shame |
Security agents including soldiers, policemen and members of the civil defence corps deployed in the venue quickly moved in to prevent the fight from escalating.
When he visited Abba Kyari, chief
of staff to Buhari, three weeks ago, Emerhor boasted that the president will
secure two million votes from Delta in 2019.
In 2015, Buhari got 418,519 votes
from the entire six south-south states, 48,910 from Delta.
But Emerhor had told state house
correspondents that Buhari’s performance would boost his chances in the coming
presidential election.
He was accompanied by Ima Niboro,
ex-spokesman of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who defected to the APC
from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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