Just few days to the election, rumors of some candidates stepping down to support candidates from opposition parties are all over the place. One of such rumors has it that Hon. Hilary Fada Ibude, an aspirant vying for the post of Member Representing Ika South Constituency in Delta State House of Assembly under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has resigned from the race.
It could be recalled that in 2014 when Hon. Fada Ibude as a seating Ika South Local Government Chairman was contesting for a second term in office, he was at some point alleged to have stepped down, which he said he never did.
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As the same rumor resurfaced, Ika Weekly Newspaper reporters visited Hon. Hilary Fada Ibude at his residence in Agbor-Obi on Thursday December 21, 2019 to ascertain if truly he has stepped down. When interviewed, he debunked the rumor, stating that his crafty and wily opponents are at work.
His words, “it is quite unfortunate that rumormongers are going about telling people that I have stepped down. I wonder who they think I am and what they think is my reason for vying for this position.
“If I must reiterate, I am in this race to represent my people, the Ika South people better in the State House of Assembly. Should I back out from the race, I would not only ridicule myself, but would also appear to my people as a coward. Come to think of it, who should I step down for? I think this is the game my opponents are playing to poison the minds of my supporters so that I will get only few votes at the polls. But, I must tell you, what happened years ago when I was contesting for a second time in office as Ika South Local Government Chairman, will not repeat itself. Those who peddled the rumor then succeeded in achieving their aims. But, this time around, they are going to fail and will fail woefully,” he said.
Hon. Hilary Fada Ibude went further to encourage his supporters to turn out in their large numbers to vote their conscience on the day of the election without fear of violence or intimidation.