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  • Features
  • Updated: February 18, 2023

2023: Inside Delta PDP Where Powers That Be Do Not Agree

2023: Inside Delta PDP Where Powers That Be Do Not Agree

Delta State politics in the Peoples Democratic Party runs like a power triangle among politicians who would not want to be called godfathers even though they seem to be.

They include the Governor and PDP vice presidential candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and ex-governors, Chief James Ibori, and Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, another former governor.

In mathematics, we can regard the trio as the sine, cosine, and tangent that make up 2023’s gubernatorial right-angle triangle in the state.

Had it been the trio marched behind a consensus candidate, it would have been safe to conclude that the Mach 11 gubernatorial election in Delta is just an exhibition game considering the political power and crowd influence they jointly possess.

But the spirit of uncertainty has overruled the walk-over because as close as the election draws, the three bigwigs fail to speak in a sole voice.  

It was the supreme court that had to validate Sheriff Oborevwori as the authentic gubernatorial standard-bearer of the party.

Whereas, the judgement has successfully blown up enmity among the three gladiators.

Former governor of the state and PDP chieftain, James Ibori and his former successor, Emmanuel Uduaghan stood behind Olorogun David Edevbie, the aspirant who lost the ticket to Oborevwori.

Edevbie won at the Federal High Court but lost at both the appeal and supreme courts.

Emmanuel Uduaghan, one of the big wig involved put it better: “Olorogun David Edevbie went to court, and Ibori was a major supporter of Edevbie.

"Some of us who are close to Ibori were with him during the period at the Federal High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court.

"Edevbie won in the Federal High Court and lost in the Appeal Court and Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court was clear that the candidate is Sheriff Oborevwori, and in all these, there were mere allegations against Sheriff about his certificate."

Since Ibori’s candidate lost the baton, the party in the state has failed to bring the gladiators in the party together to work for the party’s standard bearer.

Sources told AllNews Nigeria that James Ibori has thereafter started working for the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s gubernatorial candidate and Deputy Senate President, Senator Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege.

The trio has always disagreed time and time again

Now it is the turn of Ibori who is aggrieved because according to a personality interview published today by Vanguard Newspaper, Emmanuel Uduaghah has decided to bury the hatchet and work with his party’s gubernatorial candidate alongside the incumbent governor and Atiku’s presidential running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa.

While speaking on why he left PDP when he did, Uduaghan said: “I was even trying to make peace with the governor then, but things were not healthy and I just pulled back.

"Of course, in my local government, some of the people that I was their leader had been so empowered that whatever I wanted to do, they play a leadership role over me. 

“I understand government very well, I have been there for 16 years, and I knew what was happening.

"However, I do not know how long they could stretch my patience; therefore, I decided that instead of me to wait for them to be doing that, let me just move to the All Progressives Congress to avoid what they call stories that touch."

Emmanuel Uduaghan had left for the APC when all roads looked sour for him in the PDP because irreconcilable differences were brewing up in the party and the  APC was the safest haven. 

 “After staying in APC for about 18 months or so, I found that the grass was not even greener there, the grass there was brown and very bad it was even better to have stayed in the PDP”, Uduaghan stated.

The unseen voice 

Uduaghan, the sole voice that had agreed to address the situation, revealed in his latest presser that an unseen voice told him that he needed to return to support the party’s candidate and the governor of the state, a voice he found difficult to disobey.

With him joining forces with Okowa to stand beside Oborevwori, the 2023 gubernatorial contest will be a feisty affair among the gladiators.

Ibori and his people particularly, the Delta Unity Group (DUG) have distanced themselves from the governor and his preferred successor.

The belief of Uduaghan and other party members in the state our reporter contacted while compiling this report is that “Ibori will not leave the PDP, he is one of the founding fathers of the party and he is still very much around”.

The inter-party politics

The G5 governors gave the early precedent that inter-party politics could be forgiven in the forthcoming general elections.

The likes of Niyi Akintola (SAN) in Oyo State who have endorsed Seyi Makinde against his party’s candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin are also huge talking points.

AllNews Nigeria cannot confirm that James Ibori has left the PDP but we can report authoritatively to back this report that he had been actively involved in working with other parties than he has been with his party and the party’s gubernatorial candidate.

On election day

Since the three gladiators whom Uduaghan described in his interview as “whoever they picked jointly would have convincingly won the election” do not agree, the Speaker for Delta state House of Assembly for six years could have a tougher task succeeding his boss, Ifeanyi Okowa.

There was a time when James Ibori mediated between the governor, Ifeanyi Okowa and former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan when the latter went to the APC, but now when they should do all they can to bring James Ibori back to their camp, the trio has been lacking and finding it difficult to find common grounds.

An assistant to Governor Okowa told our reporter that the current flagbearer of the party was Sheriff Oborevwori was never a popular candidate.

He said, “No one knows why the governor and Emmanuel Uduaghan are lining up behind him with his questionable credentials."

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