THE battle to unseat the incumbent governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, is thickening by the minutes following the recent defection of the former governor of the oil rich state, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan.
Uduaghan had in a post defection statement made on Facebook, described himself as ‘John the Baptist’ suggesting that like the biblical John the Baptist, someone whose political shoe string he cannot tie will follow soon in his footstep.
Whether that is right or not remains to be seen in a matter of weeks, however, what is happening now in the state is that the defection of the ex-governor to the all Progressives Congress Party (APC), has also led to the dumping of the party by Joel Onowakpo a former executive chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue internal revenue board.
Onowakpo like Uduaghan cited many reasons for dumping the PDP including security reasons and hinted on non development as his reason for cross carpeting.
Though, many have alleged that the stupendously rich Onowakpo left the party because of the alleged insistence of the House of Representatives Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, to return to the house after after three terms and even when many had though that he will retire to his mansion in Ozoro following his health status.
Sources said that Onowakpo believes that with Ogor still interested and Okowa still the governor and leader of the party in the state, he will likely pressurise the state chairman of the party in the state, Barrister Kingsley Esiso, to offer the ticket of the party to Ogor.
He is also said to have settled other aspirants to back off while he musters his resources to face Ogor who is an Isoko like him and who is representing the good people of Isoko Federal Constituency that has largely remained peaceful and united until the defections.
However, sources said that the Uduaghan defection and that of Onowakpo have polarised Isoko nation where the former secretary to state government, Comrade … Macaulay hails from.
The plot to unseat Okowa and PDP is not limited to the Isoko nation, even in his Anioma ethnic nationality, the war is fiercer as APC’s standard bearer is likely to come from there. And already, people like the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, Professor Pat Utomi and others are all angling to snatch the ticket of APC to contest against Okowa.
In fact, both Ochei and Utomi have been most critical of Okowa and his programmes and policies.
They are not bother that if any of them is given the ticket to fly APC’s ticket against Okowa, they will polarise the vote of Anioma people and pave the way for a party without an Anioma candidate to win the poll. And if that happens, Anioma would have been denied the opportunity of governing the state for eight years like Delta Central and Delta South Senatorial districts.
The same high tension opposition is playing out in Delta Central Senatorial District (Urhobo land), the traditional bastion of APC which Senator Ovie Omo-Agege represents at the senate.
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Though, Chief James Ibori, the acclaimed godfather of Delta State politics and former governor of the state hail from there, it is also on record that Chief Great Ogboru hails from there too. And Ogboru, going by his antecedents may likely present himself for another round of election next year or prop up someone to throw his hat into the ring against Okowa.
Already some people that matters in the district, interest groups and youths have been paying the serial candidate for governorship election courtesy call and nudging him to run again.
The only place that has some semblance of peace and maybe secured for Okowa is the Ijaw nation where the deputy governor of the state hails from and also where the senator representing Delta South Senatorial District, Chief James Manager, comes from. But like Ogor, Manager has been in the senate since 2003, he took over from Senator Stella Omu and people are getting fed up with his sit-tight attitude and wants him out or may vote for Uduaghan who has declared for that position.
Though, the state’s Commission for Information, Ogbueshi Patrick Ukah, in a press briefing in reaction to Uduaghan’s interview on Channel Television, has dismissed the opposition, insisting that Okowa’s achievement will see him through, there is no denying the fact that whatever be the case, 2019 election for Okowa might not be a walk in the garden like it was four years ago when the PDP was ‘united’ and spoke with one voice.
