Feelers from Owa Ailero, his country home where he spent the last Christmas holidays, indicate that uneasy lies Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa’s head that wears the crown of the governor of Delta State.
The story coming out of that rural, agarian village that Okowa has turned to a town says that the cold war between him and his political godfather, Chief James Ibori, will soon be blown open over their choice of candidate for Delta State governor of Urohobo extraction.
Our source hinted that, though, it has been agreed among the People’s Democratic Party (family) in the state that the turn by turn rotation formula of the governorship slot, which started from Urohobo nation in 1999 with Ibori, should return there since all the three prominent ethnic nationalities have benefitted, what might rock the boat between Okowa and Ibori, is who among all the sons of Urohobo land that have shown interest will get the support of the cabals that fix things in the oil rich state.
That we learnt was the crux of all the political meetings Okowa held with his loyalist during the Christmas break with no agreement. While we learnt that like in 2015 when Ibori according to that famous video of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi pushed and made sure that Okowa became PDP’s candidate, right from British jail, against the then incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s wish and choices, Okowa is alleged not to be favorably disposed to the person, David Edeviebe, the godfather and his supporters want in Delta government house in 2023.
To start with, he is said to have show his Ika kins in his government that he suspect have been moonlighting with Edeviebe for 2023 the way out and his excuse is that no appointee is allowed to support or work for any aspirant while the appointee is still in office.
And from the way things are in the state, many of his appointees especially from his Ika tribe are ready to call his bluff and support Edeviebe whom this writer, has as far back as 2020 described as ” Nwa eze a ma na o ga echi” (the prince that will be crowned).
And like one his aide who has been with him right from his days as Secretary to State Government (SSG) put it, ” those who were not there when were fight for this governorship in 2015 have taken over ”
That said, the latest war Okowa is contending with is that coming from Chief (Barr) Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe whom he appointed on the prompting of the likes of Amori. Now Latimore is caught in the web of receiving money to organised training for government PROs that never was and money has entered voice mail like they say in our local lingo.
