Senator Ifeanyi Okowa’s emergence as the governorship
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State was not just the
result of the steadfastness and steel of the candidate. There were many other
factors.
While he is
generally appreciated for his political integrity, last Monday’s victory has
unmistakably highlighted the grip on the state chapter of the PDP of associates
of the immediate past governor of the state, Chief James Ibori on the party.
Okowa served in Chief James Ibori’s cabinet like Senator James Manager, who
joined forces to push forward Okowa’s victory.
Consensus
candidate
Okowa polled 406
votes beating to second place, Olorogun David Edevbie, the consensus candidate
of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) who also had the political machinery
of the state government behind him with 299 votes. Other results as
announced by Sunday Kareem, the returning officer were as follows: Victor
Ochei (185 votes), Ndudi Elumelu (50 votes), Godsday Orubebe (49) and Godswill
Obielum (22). Sylvester Monye, Ovie Omo-Agege and Sam Obi got 10 votes
each; Peter Okocha had six votes, Tony Obuh (five), Charles Emetulu
(four), Kenneth Gbagi (two) and Mike Uwaka (one vote). One vote was voided.
2006 power shift
agreement
It was learned
on good authority that Ibori insisted on the power shift arrangement by leaders
of the party, eight years ago, which is that Delta North senatorial district
should produce the governor in 2015. This was against the clamour by the UPU,
the apex sociocultural group of his Delta Central district for an Urhobo
governorship flag bearer.
Incompatible
dissimilarities
It was, however,
palpable that there were some irreconcilable differences between Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan and Okowa which only the two personalities can explain.
While Uduaghan stood wholeheartedly for a Delta North successor, his
mind was not on Okowa and his body language pointed to the retired permanent
secretary, Mr. Anthony Obuh. Until the last minute swing by his political
machinery, Obuh was generally perceived as the man to beat in the contest.
Okowa or nobody
else
Those who served
with Okowa in the Ibori government were said to have insisted on Okowa forging
ahead a development that pushed those opposed to him to the wall, and brought
up the idea of using Edevbie to stop him through the Urhobo Progress Union,
UPU.
UPU’s debacle
The UPU assumed
that its threat to switch the much trumpeted 800,000 Urhobo votes against
President Jonathan was what made President Jonathan to order Governor Uduaghan
to support its candidate, Edevbie, but it probably read the handwriting on the
wall wrongly. The strings were from no other person than their son, Chief
Ibori, who contended that the Edevbie project would not fly.
Comrade Paul
Bebenimibo, a senior adviser to ex-militant leader, Chief Godwin Ekpemupolo,
alias Tompolo, distanced the president from the affair saying “That is a lie,
President Jonathan is not involved in the matter, he did not give any
directive, they should leave him out of it.”
Bebenimibo,
chairman of Okowa Mandate 2015, who earlier told Vanguard that Okowa
would win, despite the UPU gang –up against Delta North, said, “We, the Ijaw
people from Delta South senatorial district, except for some few that voted for
the former Minister of Niger-Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, worked for Okowa
because we know he is the leader that Delta state needs now.”
An Ijaw
governorship aspirant, Mr. Andrew Warri, who stepped down for Okowa, told Vanguard,
“Okowa deserved the victory, my people told me to step down and work for him. I
had to respect their position, the primary was free and fair, nobody can fault
the process.”
Okowa is known
to be loved by the political class in the state, but his tiff with Uduaghan
alienated some persons until the eleventh hour when the Ibori followers rallied
round him. Senator James Manager, who is also of the Ibori political family,
led his Ijaw kinsmen, while Tompolo, did a yeoman job behind the scene.
Nwaoboshi
undeterred till the last minute
Former state
chairman of the party, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, who had boasted that it was Delta
North in 2015, was not deterred by the last minute momentum towards Edevbie. He
told Vanguard five hours before the votes were counted, “Mark it, you
will see what will happen, there is no way Delta Central is going to get it.”
Nwaoboshi shook
hands triumphantly with Senator Manager shortly after Ijaw delegates cast their
votes, probably for a job well done. This was before the votes were counted.
The refusal of Delta North aspirants to arrive at a consensus candidate for the
primary worried the Ibori political family, but that notwithstanding, it
deployed its immense muscle in the three senatorial districts to deliver Okowa.
Shocker for UPU
An Urhobo leader
said, “In fact, the UPU was shocked that some Urhobo people voted for Okowa
instead of Edevbie. Even though the votes from all the local governments were
mixed and counted together, it was clear when the Delta Central local
governments were being counted that they were betrayers in the house.”
“It was Ibori that directed that Chief
Ighoyota Amori should get the Delta Central senatorial ticket and before you
know it, the same Amori that lost to Senator Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, some months
ago, emerged as flag bearer. You see, this is politics, Amori and
others, even though they are all under UPU, have no choice than to work for the
candidate of their man,” he added.
Few hours to the
primary, the adoption of Chief Edevbie by UPU apparently in consultation with
the powers that be instilled fear in some of the aspirants and made some,
including the deputy governor, Prof Amos Utuama, to drop from the race.
The Urhobo
political class and other government officials, who were giving marching orders
to deliver Chief Edevbie worked hard as most of them moved from one delegate to
the other, canvassing for votes without fruitful results. Most of them beyond
what they were given, spent their personal money to woo delegates but to no
avail.
One reason the
Ijaw kicked against Edevbie was that they saw him as a member of the cabal that
worked against the ascension of Dr. Jonathan as acting president when President
Umaru Yar’Adua took ill in 2009. The Ijaw gave bloc votes to Dr Okowa, vowing
that the man, who worked against the emergence of their kinsman (Jonathan) would
get their votes.
Bitter lesson
for UPU
As a matter of
fact, the emergence of Dr. Okowa was akin to a political revolution in the
state as people from the three senatorial districts voted him regardless of
whatever order they were given. Most importantly, the leadership of the UPU
would learn a bitter lesson from this because it threw their weight behind a
‘goat’ in a fight meant for lions’.
Political
mystery
A political
analyst hinted, yesterday, “What happened in Delta state is a political
mystery. It is a clear indication that nobody is God or can play God. When they
say 24 hours is long time in politics, nobody should dismiss the statement in a
hurry because that is exactly what played out in the state.”
“Can you explain
why Dr. Uduaghan had to step down for Senator Manager in the Delta South
primary, forget the explanation that it was for peace and security of the
state, did you not see what happened to Mr. Obuh, who only 48 hours to the
primary was the man to beat.
“Things changed,
all just because of a call by Ibori’s men to associates that Okowa is the man
to take over from Uduaghan. Even the governor could not stop it, it was power
against power,” he stated.
Three reasons
why Okowa won – Prof Oyovbaire
Chairman of the
Okowa Advisory Committee, the think-tank that weathered the storm, Prof Sam
Oyovbaire, however, gave Vanguard further insight into what happened.
He said Okowa won because of the credible that was put in place to
actualize his ambition, the commitment and suitability of Okowa himself to the
project and the prevarication of officialdom on favoured and non-favoured
aspirants.
It was learned
that even there were challenges of finance, Okowa rose up to the occasion, so
his group was able to soldier ahead and the strongest of the challenges was the
support of officialdom for different aspirants. Oyovbaire, however, said
that the shift from Aspirant A, B to C and all that by officialdom, rather than
worry the Okowa group, emboldened it to believe that officialdom could still
dump the man chosen at the last minute and that was what happened.
He said given
that the delegates for the primary were supposed to be 1,080, the Okowa group
worked day and night with its candidate, tackling all sort of rumors and
building bridges and calculated that Okowa would get nothing less than 500
votes and leave others to share the remaining. Okowa, however, won with 406
votes, 94 votes short of the projected figure.
Other forces
Majority leader
of the House of Assembly, Chief Monday Igbuya, who was working for Tony Obuh,
former state chairman of the party, Patrick Sinebe from Patani, Senator James
Manager, name them, all had to join forces from Delta South and Central to
deliver Okowa following Ibori’s directive. Igbuya could not obey the UPU
directive because of the sanction against him over his support for Obuh.
“The
Commissioner representing Itsekiri on the board of DESOPADEC, Chief Michael
Diden, aka Ejele, who is from Warri North, Governor Uduaghan’s local
government, did not work for Edevbie because he is an unrepentant Okowa man. He
fought tooth and nail to ensure that Okowa won in Asaba.”
Uduaghan
congratulates Okowa
In the spirit of
love, Uduaghan congratulated Okowa Monday night on his victory. In a press
statement issued by his chief press secretary, Mr. Sunny Ogefere, he described
Okowa’s victory as well deserving. Uduaghan who is leader of the PDP in
the state, charged Okowa to demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship by quickly
extending a hand of fellowship to other contestants. He also called on the
other aspirants to note that the exercise was a family contest where there was
no winner no loser, urging them to join hands with Okowa in positioning the
party for victory at the general elections.
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Politics