By Law Igwebuike, Asaba
My plan was to catnap for at least two hours of the journey in a commercial transport vehicle from Asaba, capital of Delta State to Warri, the Oil City, in the southern part of the state, having strove late the previous day. But I found myself conscious because of the vivacious talks of three other occupants on the approaching 2023 governorship elections in the state.
Dr. John Ereyitomi from the Delta South senatorial district; Engr. Emeka Maduemezia from Delta North senatorial district ; and Kingsley Onome, a business tycoon from Delta Central senatorial district as I later got to know their identities, proved well-informed and concerned about who takes over from Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in 2023.
I saw in their dialogues the mindset of Deltans towards the governorship aspirants currently parading the state. Excerpts:
MADUEMEZIA: (He actully kick-started the dialogue) I do not really understand what is happening in our state, I see little hope with the caliber of governorship aspirants in the battle, many of them operating just on the social media, especially in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
ONOME: You are correct, the one that rankles me most is the former financial caretaker under the administration of his ex-boss and former governor that pillaged the state dry. Very annoying is that his political mentor still wants to govern the state through him as a stooge after the financial mess they plunged us and generations to come.
EREYITOMI: He is a crook like his his mentor, who wants to impose him by all means as our next governor. We, as Deltans, must reject this imposition. What do they even see in him, another ex-governor that reluctantly handed over in 2015 also tried to use him as a foil to stop Okowa, but he failed?
Now, the two ex-governors want to manipulate him again, is he not man enough to know when people are using him to achieve their ulterior power motives. I sincerely think Urhobo people should put their house in order for nobody will support such an aspirant that allows himself to be a willing tool by others in every election period.
MADUEMEZIA: It is not only him, they are many others from Delta Central whose presence in the race makes one ponder if Urhobo people do not know what is good for them. I want to believe that this was partly why Governor Okowa urged the people of Delta Central to prune their list of governorship contenders when he graced an event by Urbobo Progress Union, UPU, the apex Urhobo socio-cultural group, recently.
The game plan is to make the stooge governor and also foist a former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, loyal to the godfather as his running mate so that they can continue plundering the state from where the godfather stopped.
In fact, if there is anything Deltans should wise up to in 2023, it is the wicked plot to foist a pretender as their governor. They, indeed, wanted to palm him off using an Urhobo political pressure group floated for the purpose
EREYITOMI: But the managing director of the Urhobo group, a one-time commissioner in the state, recently, swore that the intention of the group was not to pass off the pretender. Would he have said otherwise, well, let us watch and see what happens.
But come to think of it, what capability does the principal legislator among them, who is allegedly enmeshed in a rip-off have to run for governorship, I hear some groups are pushing him to contest because of what they stand to gain if they succeed? His sponsors think they can flatter the governor with one of his aides in their permutation as running mate.
ONOME: I am really flabbergasted that all the governorship aspirants from my senatorial district, except one, who is a lawyer, criminologist and industrialist, are kowtowing and swearing to be loyal to the political godfather if he makes them governor.
How a person found guilty and jailed for corruption is their role model befuddles me. All of them, including the ex- commissioners eyeing the governorship seat are all looking up to the same ex-governor that had been adjudged a thief. Only the lawyer, criminologist and industrialist, who has set up visible businesses, providing employment opportunities for citizens of the state is different from the pack. Curiously, it is in his daring to be different that they scorn and accuse him of arrogance.
MADUEMEZIA: In that case, Governor Okowa is dead-on in his advice that Delta Central should put its house in order. Exactly and if Urhobo people make the mistake of allowing the notorious cabal to palm off a stooge and corrupt person as their governorship candidate, the whole Delta will rebel against them.
EREYITOMI: It is recognizable why they have continued to fight the criminologist over the years, not that he does not have the Midas touch to transform the state, but he is not of the same political plumage.
Nevertheless, there is this allegation that he does not pay his workers and stripped some female workers naked, how true are these allegations.
ONOME: That is part of the conspiracies to tarnish his reputation. Did you not read the court judgment that found him and his hotel innocent of the spurious allegations and his recent challenge on Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS, Asaba, to anybody that worked for him and was not paid salary to come with proof and he would gift the person N10 million? More than a month after he threw the challenge, nobody has taken up the gauntlet.
MADUEMEZIA: As the biggest private investor in the state, I see him as a better option for the state. He is the only industrialist among them and industrialization is what the states requires from 2023. I do not even know besides him at the moment, if any other aspirant in the PDP has formally declared interest to run for governorship, they are all masquerading in my opinion.
EREYITOMI: Yes, he started his campaign visibly and quite early in 2019 and so far, he is the only governorship aspirant that has visited his party leadership in Asaba to inform the state executive that he wants to contest as governor. Others are still waiting for their sponsors to give them green light before going public.
MADUEMEZIA: The 2023 race is not for Urhobo aspirants only, we also have Ijaw governorship aspirants, including a senior lawmaker in Abuja, assistant chief executive of the state and a former local government council chairman. Why is the emphasis only on Urhobo governorship aspirants?
ONOME: Everybody in the state knows that governorship should rotate to Delta Central senatorial district in 2023. The pattern introduced by PDP, whether by design or omission that had seen power move from Delta Central to Delta South, and now Delta North is the best for the state and should continue.
But some people from Ijaw extraction in Delta South, notably the assistant chief executive of the state, a senior lawmaker and former local government council chairman are in the race, claiming it was Ijaw turn.
The constitution permits everybody to run but the party has final say on its candidate. However, the assistant state chief executive does not have the support of even his home base to run for the office of governor. He really has no structure on ground, one thinks he should be grateful to God, who tossed him from nowhere to his present position in life.
Forget about the Ijaw senior lawmaker who has nothing to point at for his spans of representing his people as a policymaker. His is a non-starter, how can a non-performer in the lawmaking arm of government want Deltans to vote him as governor.
The former council boss and ex-commissioner is there to make up the number, I do not even think that he is campaigning now.
MADUEMEZIA: Undoubtedly, some persons are not in the battle because they want to become governor, all they want is to increase their negotiating power when the time comes for juicy positions and appointment after the elections.
ONOME: The All Progressives Congress, APC, from available indication is going to field another top Urhobo son and lawmaker as its governorship candidate. The problem is that the party is not actually on ground in the state, the reason a former governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and ex-Speaker, Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya, who dumped PDP at a time and joined APC, have returned back to the party.
EREYITOMI: Well, the lawmaker in question has been a political hustler, precast by the ex-governor turned political godfather. He is very desperate to become governor, which was why he betrayed his benefactor, Chief Great Ogboru, currently up in arms against him with other APC leaders in the state.
In his bid to climb to power, he has done everything to destroy others and has, lately, found a compatible collaborator in his colleague, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, who is willing to dine with him. Truth, on the other hand, is that Deltans are not likely to count on such persons when it comes to brass tack.
ONOME: The godfather was able to install his successor, Uduaghan, before he left office in 2007, but Uduaghan could not install his choice successor, as God intervened and broke protocols to make Okowa winner. Now, it is Okowa’s turn to influence his successor, who actually is his candidate?
MADUEMEZIA: Until now, it is still cloudy who Okowa is supporting but I hear that he met, few months ago, with the said political godfather, who told him his candidate for 2023 remains the projected aspirant that Uduaghan finally used as guinea pig in his unsuccessful schemes against him (Okowa) in 2015, but the governor rejected the choice. Sources hinted the governor said he would rather go for the man with the pedigree to turn around the state, who all of them, as politicians, know. I understand that is where they are as at today.
