Feelers from Owa Ailero, the country home of Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, where he spent the last Christmas holidays, indicate that he is heading for a collision course with a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, over who succeeds the later in 2023.
Okowa
The story coming out of that rural, agrarian village that Okowa has virtually turned into a town, says that the cold war between him and his political godfather, will soon be blown open.
Our source hinted that, though, it has been agreed among the People’s Democratic Party ,PDP, 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 in the state, have all benefitted. But, the fear now is, who to pick among the array of aspirants from the Urohobo ethnic stock that have shown interest to carry the party’s flag. This our source said might rock the boat for the duo in favour of All Progressives Congress, APC, if not well handled.
Newdawnngr.com sources revealed that the choice of who to pick dominated all the political meetings Okowa held with his loyalists during the Christmas break with no agreement.
It was 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, David Edeviebe, the choice of his godfather and who Ibori his supporters want in Delta government house in 2023. Insiders revealed that Okowa has not forgiven Edeviebe for making himself available for Uduaghan to be used to attempt to frustrate his (Okowa’s) ambition to secure the party’s ticket then. This was after Uduaghan had failed in his initial support for the late Sir Tony Obuh, Okowa’s fellow Ika man, who was brought in from his civil service position of a permeant secretary government house to seek for PDP ticket but it was the insistence of Ibori that if not Okowa, no one else helped swayed it for him.
That scenario, our source said is playing out in the state again for 2023 as Ibori is rumoured to be backing Edeviebe and Okowa throwing his incumbent power behind the current speaker of the state who is also an Urohobo man.
But to show that he is serious in his opposition to Edeviebe, Okowa is said to have started with his Ika kins in his government that he suspected of having been supporting Edeviebe for 2023, by threatening to show them the way out of his government on the excuse 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 those from his Ika tribe are also equally ready to call his bluff and support Edeviebe whom this writer, has as far back as 2020 described as the prince that will be crowned ( Nwa eze a ma na o ga echi).
