December 12, (THEWILL) – As politicking for the 2023 general election enters pre-convention stage, which streamlines alliances and forges allies for the jostling of party tickets, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has begun to set his house in order for the emergence of his successor, ahead of the election.
Three weeks ago, according to dependable government sources, the governor reversed his earlier decision to pick his successor from the Ijaw ethnic group in Delta South zone, a move that pitched him against power blocs in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Sources close to the governor, who requested anonymity, disclosed to THEWILL that Okowa had “finally made up his mind to pick his successor from the Urhobo ethnic group in Delta Central zone after a long careful thought.”
Events had taken a sudden turn on May 18, 2021 when the governor unexpectedly dissolved his cabinet in one fell swoop without hinting or consulting stakeholders in the state. He understandably wielded the big stick to separate the administrators from politicians, who had refused to heed his earlier call on those nursing governorship ambitions to consult with him rather than holding political meetings that distracted them from doing their jobs.
A few days after replacing many of the officials that were removed from the cabinet, the governor disclosed his preference on zoning frontally.
At the quarterly media briefing held on May 20, 2021 in Asaba, the state capital, he said, “A gentleman’s agreement is one that is not written. I want to believe that that is what it is supposed to be. There was no formal meeting where a gentleman’s agreement was reached and that is the truth as of today.
“It means that whatever we are doing or talking about today is about what is fair, what is equitable and how to define what is fair and what is equitable.”
Then he addressed the inference that he had a chosen candidate as successor, adding, “On the allegation of an intention to hand over to an Ijaw man, it is only God Almighty that knows who will be governor after me.”
Seven months after those momentous days, things have changed, owing to real political permutations and strategy.
According to the sources mentioned earlier, Okowa, who was irked by a move by some people among the Urhobo to jettison the zoning agreement in the state during the governorship poll in 2015, turned around and decided to respect the unwritten power sharing agreement within the PDP in the state but with a caveat. “He will not support any aspirant in the race that played a key role in the botched 2015 primary,” one of the sources said.
THEWILL recalls that the power bloc, which had the ears of Okowa’s predecessor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, had tried unsuccessfully to circumvent the power-sharing agreement in 2015 by backing a former commissioner in the state, David Edevbie, from the Urhobo ethnic group, to clinch the party’s governorship primary. Again, earlier this year, Edevbie was linked to a somewhat shadow political group, DC-23, an acronym for Delta Central for 2023 governorship.
In retaliation, after his re-election in 2019, Okowa and his close allies covertly encouraged aspirants from the Ijaw ethnic group to enter the governorship race in 2023, to the discomfort of former Governor james Ibori and other stakeholders in Delta Central.
The move gave politicians like Senator James Manager and the deputy governor, Kingsley Burutu Otaro, who are both Ijaws, the courage to start working towards the governorship ticket.
Shortly before Okowa dissolved his cabinet in May, DC-23, was already pushing the agenda of Delta Central for the governorship race, openly declaring its aims and appealing to aspirants to declare their intentions publicly, while appealing to leaders and party members from the two other zones of Delta South and Delta North to support Delta Central to produce the next governor of the state, in the “interest of equity and justice.”
Speaking to THEWILL at the time, Mr Sunny Appiah, spokesman of the group, denied any knowledge of Edebvie’s membership of the group, but he admitted, “Maybe some members are supporting his ambition.” He described DC-23 as a lobby group.
All three zones have each produced a governor under the zoning formula started at the beginning of this republic, with Chief James Ibori (Central), his successor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan (South) and the incumbent, Okowa, who hails from Delta North.
With his latest decision to support the zoning agreement, the governor, according to our sources, is ready for the battle to determine who succeeds him.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
