In two years’ time, Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan will vacate office, after the completion of his second term.
No fewer than 15 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains are
scheming to succeed him. In other parties, there are also some aspirants
eyeing the position.
The number of aspirants may go up, following the registration of the
proposed All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP aspirants are basking
in the euphoria of the power of incumbency. However, opposition
aspirants have said that this will crumble during the elections because
there will be alternative routes for the voters to explore.
In Delta State, there are the serious aspirants, the not-so-serious
and the pretenders. Campaign offices are being set up. Structures are
being fortified. But the primaries will seperate the wheat from the
chaff.
The aspirants
The top contenders for the governorship include Senator Arthur Okowa,
Dr Festus Okubor, Hon. Victor Ochei, Elder Godsday Orubebe, Ben
Williams, Navy Commander Onabu, Senator Pius Ewehrido, and Chief Great
Ogboru.
Okowa
He is the senator representing Delta North District in the Upper
Chamber. Okowa has intimidating credentials. He was the Chairman of Ika
South local government, Commissioner of Health and Secretary to Delta
State Government. He was defeated by Uduaghan during the 2007 polls. He
is a grassroots mobiliser and a towering personality in Delta politics.
He has a large followership in Delta North District, which he represents
in the National Assembly. But he also has appeal in other senatorial
distrits. In fact, he has structures across the three zones. Many
believe that he can rebuild his political structure he used during his
failed 2007 governorship bid. But he faces a stiff opposition from some
influential politicians in the state, who still believe that he cannot
be trusted. To them, he accepted to become the secretary to government
when he had the opportunity to discredit the controversial PDP primaries
that threw up Uduaghan, press for a new shadow poll and smile away with
the ticket. His critics maintained that he should have aligned with the
other aggrieved aspirants to protest the alleged imposition of
Uduaghan, instead of jumping at the prospect of becoming the Secretary
to Government.
Others have chided him for ethnicity, recalling that that he has not
risen beyond being the champion of Ikaland. They alleged that Okowa is
always eager to defend the interest of his native Owa Aliero, in utter
insensitivity to the interests of other towns and villages in the
senatorial district.
Okubor
He is an orator. He is former Governor James Ibori’s Commissioner for
Information. Currently, he is the Chief of Staff in the Uduaghan
Administration. in 2011, Okubor was the Deputy Director-General of
Uduaghan Campaign Organisation. He is perceived as a dark horse in the
race for the top job. However, many believe that his closeness with
Governor Uduaghan may tilt the balance in his favour. They arrive at
this conclusion because Uduaghan is interested how his successor will
emerge. But, the governor’s support may be a double edged sword. Unless
those who were injured by the imposition of Uduaghan in 2007 are
pacified, they may resist Okubor’s emergence. There is the pervading
feeling in Delta State that Ibori, who is in jail abroad, will determine
who succeeds Uduaghan.
Besides, Okubor has some weaknesses. He does not seem to have a deep
purse to run an effective state-wide campaigns. Also, the presence of
his kinsman, Arthur Okowa, in the race may split Anioma votes. Okubor
lacks the required experience to survive in the rough and tumble of
Delta politics because he has never sought elective office before.
Ochei
He is the Speaker of the House of Assembly. He has endowed his office
with visibility. He also enjoys cordial relations with the governor.
enjoys immense visibility in his current job. Ochei is a three-time
legislator representing Aniocha North Cnstituency. He is a wealthy
politician and philanthropist who commands the respect of his
constituents. If wealth alone is all it takes to become the governor,
Ochei will win the governorship with mimimal effort. But Delta politics
is treacherous and unpredictable. Ochei‘s critics accuse him of
arrogance, But he rejected the label, saying that his self-confidence
has been uncritically confused with arrogance. Until recently, when he
divested his shares in Davnotch Nigeria Ltd, he has received a lot of
bashing for allegedly using his influence as a top politician to corner
lucrative contracts from the government for his company.
Orubebe
The Minister NigerDelta Affairs hails from Delta South Senatorial
District, the same zone that produced Uduaghan. He is from the Ijaw
extraction. Ordinarily, with zoning in place, Orubebe’s name should not
come up for mention. But tongues are wagging. With the recent
rapprochement between Uduaghan and Chief Edwin Clark, his ambition
cannot be ruled out. Orubebe is a protégé of Clark and, with the rising
sentiment in some quarters that zoning should be jettisoned, analysts
believe that he has a good chance. A major challenge he has to surmount
is that he comes from the minority Ijaw tribe. Also, if he becomes the
PDP candidate, then, zoning is dead in Delta State. The only alternative
is for him to defect from the PDP. But will Orubebe defect?
Ewherido
He is from the Delta Central District. He is a formidable politician
beloved by the Urhobo. The senator was a member of the House of Assembly
between 1999 and 2007. He also served as the Acting Speaker. Ewherido
is major player in Delta politics. His is popular in his zone. Against
all odds, he contested against the PDP for the Senate on the platform of
the mushroom party, the Democratic People Party (DPP). That was after
he lost the governorship primaries to Uduaghan in the PDP. He had gone
underground, following his failed governorship bid, only to resurface
and daze the PDP at the senatorial election. Urhobo has a superior
numerical strength and, if the tribe supports him, he will shake the
state in 2015. The ethnic group has been in the political wilderness in
the last eight years, shopping for a credible candidate. But a major
minus for Ewherido is his perceived independent mind.
Ogboru
Ogboru is a millionaire-businessman and veteran governorship
aspirant. He loves power. But it has eluded him since 2003. In 2011, his
party, the Democratic People Party, made a frantic attempt to prove
that Ogboru is popular in the state. The party won eight seats in the
House of Assembly. It also won a seat each in the House of
Representatives and Senate. The “People’s General”, as he is fondly
called by supporters, appears to be battle weary these days. He seems to
have slowed down. But his supporters inisist that he is a crowd puller
and a factor in Delta politics. But can Ogboru still count on the
support of the Urhobos, especially with the emergence of Ewherido? Only
time will tell.
Williams
Williams, fondly called “the Ben Lion Heart of Delta”, is running on
the platform of the proposed APC. The retired Airforce Sports and
Physical Education School instructor is from the Delta North. He is busy
setting up campaign structures across the local governments. He is an
advocate of power shift. Williams had boasted that the APC will dislodge
the PDP in 2015. “The die is cast between the APC and PDP in Delta. PDP
has failed and APC is now the saving grace. It is only the APC that can
avert the disintegration of the country. It is only APC that can
reposition Delta State”, he said.
Keyamo
Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo has also joined the race. He is a
pro-democracy activist and radical lawyer. The structure campaigning for
him is the ‘Delta Frontiers”. The youths and students are rooting for
his candidature. However, Keyamo has not announced his political
platform. His associates have ruled out the PDP. This means that he he
will jostle for the ticket in the APC or other smaller parties.
source:the nation
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