By Olusegun Olanrewaju
There are indications that the ongoing battle on who becomes the eventual flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, in the 2023 election might consume the ruling party, as the fight may continue after the legal tussle.
The battle deepened on Friday, July 22 when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published the particulars of the candidates nominated by political parties for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections in all the constituencies nationwide.
The details of Mr Sheriff Oborevwori, who won the party governorship primary and had his name submitted to the INEC, were not among those published by the electoral umpire as eligible to contest the governorship election in 2023.
Oborevwori, who is the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, defeated the former Chief of Staff to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, David Edevbie in the primary held on May 25.
However, his closest rival, Edevbie, approached an Abuja High Court seeking Oborevwori’s disqualification on grounds of “discrepancies in the certificates” he presented.
The High Court subsequently granted Edevbie’s prayers by disqualifying Oborevwori and declaring the plaintiff as the party’s candidate.
The matter, which is currently before the Court of Appeal, has been slated for a proper hearing on August 19.
Oborevwori is the choice of Okowa, while his erstwhile Commissioner for Finance in his first tenure and Chief of Staff in his second tenure, Edevbie, is ex-governor James Ibori’s anointed candidate.
However, a PDP stakeholder in Isiokolo, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Mr Bernard Akpofure, expressed worry that if the anointed candidate does not get victory in court, new modalities have to be weighed on to adopt another candidate.
“And I learnt that they (Okowa’s group) have settled for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Great Ogboru,” he told ThisNigeria yesterday.
He added, “On the other hand, Edevbie will support Olorogun Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC if they do not succeed in the court. I understand that the DSP has ordered his aides never to say or post anything negative about James Ibori on social media.”
A political analyst in Warri, James Kingdom, said Okowa’s resolve not to allow Edevbie to succeed him has caused a serious crack between him and the former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, who had before now been his ‘political godfather’.
“The agreement they had before the 2015 election, which led to the disagreement between Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan, was because of Okowa.
“Recall that Ibori had told Uduaghan that after him was Okowa and after Okowa is Edevbie, and it was agreed by the political leaders in the state that nobody should scuttle it.
PDP reconciliation: Atiku, Wike team meet in Port Harcourt today
“He warned Uduaghan then to honour any agreement that had been reached. Okowa says he does not want Edevbie, nobody knows the issue between Okowa and Edevbie. None of them has come to state what the bone of contention is.
“None of their close allies have ever given a hint as to what is happening. It was the same case between Uduaghan and Okowa in 2014; nobody ever disclosed why the rejection. It is a multifaceted issue. We believe that it is only Okowa that can resolve this issue. He could tell his preferred choice to step aside, just the way Uduaghan finally gave up the fight and allowed him to be.”
Kingdom disclosed that recently, Ibori made a strong pronouncement that any person that wants to bring him down after climbing the ladder through him would never succeed in his endeavours. He said such an act is an abomination in the land.
“This tells you that they have reached a point of no return,” the source said, adding that Okowa does not also want any person linked with Uduaghan, from all the developments so far.
“He is bent on silencing Uduaghan. Recall what played out during the PDP primaries when the daughter of Uduaghan (Orode) lost the state assembly ticket. It was a deliberate move to scuttle any move Uduaghan makes. During the PDP primary, delegates from Warri North reportedly got juicy packages to ensure that they voted against Uduaghan’s daughter.”
Ibori was reported to be instrumental in the election of Okowa as the state governor in 2015, even whilst being in incarceration in the United Kingdom.
As it stands, the political atmosphere in Delta is charged with animosity among the main political actors. With Okowa now eyeing a chance in the federal seat of power in Abuja, the scenario could only get tougher, it is believed.
But the state Chairman of the party, Mr Kingsley Esiso, urged the party faithful to remain calm, stressing that INEC had asked stakeholders to be calm until court processes were exhausted.
But the Director of Operations of the David Edevbie Campaign Organisation, Mr. Julius Akpovoka, blamed the party for taking sides in the suit challenging the eligibility of Oborevwori.
Akpovoka said the two aspirants were of the same party, and one person ought not to be favoured for the other in the interest of fairness and Justice.
