By Umukoro Oghenekaro

To put it bluntly, the angling in Delta State PDP for the 2023 Governorship flag bearer is a contention between the need for the development of the state and the need for vengeance.

Long before now, Deltans had taken it for granted that the Governorship position would go to Delta Central as Delta North completes the first cycle of rotation by Senatorial Zones.

But, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa introduced another element: That there was no written agreement on rotation and would therefore not respect the presumed sequence.

While he pretends to the Delta public to base his position on fairness and equity, those who know understand that he is on a mission of vengeance.

What for? He is angry that the Urhobos of Delta Central presented candidates in the 2014 primaries when it was supposed to be the turn of Delta North and even though Delta North got it still and he eventually became the Governor, he wants to punish the Urhobos by denying them their turn, as a matter of retaliation.

His disposition brought the Ijaws into the race, with the argument that, as a major ethnic group, they cannot wait for the second cycle of rotation to get to Delta South before taking a turn. So, enter Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, the Deputy Governor; Senator James Manager and Braduce Angozi, a former Commissioner under James Ibori.

This development induced the debate on the suitability and sustainability of rotation by districts zones versus rotation by ethnic nationalities.

The Urhobos have tried hard to push back through the diplomatic lobby of DC-23 and, interestingly, Okowa encouraged them, even unto the pruning of aspirants, but perhaps, in the hope that they will hit brick walls with other ethnic groups.

The DC-23 lobby has however secured a good level of understanding across the various groups of the state. The Isoko and Itsekiri seem to be more comfortable with the zonal rotation. So too, majority of the top leadership of Anioma nation have disagreed with Okowa’s proposition to dismantle the sequence, insisting that rotation by districts guarantees better order, peace and harmony across the state.

Governor Okowa is angered by the dissenting voices in Anioma, so much that, using the influence of the Obi of Owa whom he made Chairman of the Delta Council of Traditional Rulers, he sought to split the Anioma Congress, which produced him, with the creation of another Anioma Progressive Union.

Notwithstanding, the DC-23 lobby has put Delta Central back in front for the rotation and Olorogun David Edevbie and Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori are the most prominent in the field which also has Chief Kenneth Gbagi and, possibly others whose intentions in the race are shrouded.

While Ibori and the most senior PDP leaders and elders of Urhobo, to the approval of their counterparts across the state, have proposed Edevbie as their choice aspirant, based on his credentials, experience and track record, having served in two administrations of the state and as Principal Secretary to a President, Okowa seems still to be objecting.

Governor Okowa himself, the entire top leadership of the state PDP, community party chieftains, the PDP delegates and, indeed, all Deltans, know well that in terms of qualification, development finance skills, administrative competence, management experience and exposure, Oborevwori does not stand anywhere near Edevbie.

For a state that truly desires increased pace of well articulated development, the choice between the two is a no brainer, but Okowa wants to take a pound of flesh from Edevbie for competing so hard against him in the 2014 primaries and putting so much pressure on him that it is presumed that he had to take a huge loan to keep in the race in which he however eventually finished tops and became the Governor.

Several eminent Deltans have appealed to him to jettison the idea of punishing the Urhobo nation for having their sons participating in the 2014 primaries. They point out that, first, the leadership of the PDP took charge to ensure that the rotation to Delta North was achieved and to ensure that the sequence is maintained.

Various Anioma leaders have also insisted that they would not lead their people into political enmity with the Urhobos so as not to create unnecessary ethnic disharmony, especially so as Delta North has got their due. They pointed out to him that he also garnered votes from Urhobo delegates, notwithstanding the participation of aspirants from Delta Central .

He was also reminded that, if nothing else, he should see that Chief James Ibori backed the rotation to Delta North and also overwhelmingly supported him at the 2014 primaries.

These were expected to sway Okowa to make a reconsideration but, there is a but.…….

To make it seem as if he has agreed for rotation to Delta Central, he is said to have settled for Oborevwori, the current Speaker. In doing so, he is tactically playing on the perception that the Okpes, though part of Delta Central, sometimes, do not see themselves as Urhobos. That helps him to fulfill his vengeance against both those he sees to be the Urhobos and particularly against Edevbie.

Ibori is said to have pleaded with him not to allow the spirit of vengeance to rule the party, stressing that the choice of a Governor for the state should be more in the overall interest of the State and based on the capacity to perform.

Ibori was said to have pointed out also that, while as Governor, he too was offended by several persons but he did let go as a leader in the interest of the peace and harmony of the state.

He reportedly recalled when, as a sitting Governor, Chief Godswill Obielum from Delta North challenged him in the 2003 primaries and how he did not count that against Anioma people but ensured that they got their dues in development and appointments, including Okowa himself who was super commissioner under him and grew to become Secretary to the State Government under Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, all of which helped him grow politically till he became Governor.

He reminded Okowa that notwithstanding the challengers in the 2014 primaries, he eventually has become the Governor and that it is not right for him to be nursing grudges for the whole of the eight years.

Several PDP elders have also pointed out to Okowa that he should not hold grievance exclusively against Edevbie, being that others like Kenneth Gbagi from Delta Central and aspirants from Delta South also entered the race in 2014.

They also reminded him that after the 2014 primaries Edevbie immediately joined him to campaign for his victory in the 2015 elections for which he himself testified at a rally in Akwukwu-Igbo that Edevbie supported him in several ways and asked the people to thank him.

Recently, and in uncommon humility, the Urhobo Progress Union which has endorsed Edevbie much the way that the Anioma Congress endorsed Okowa in 2014, also appealed to Okowa, on behalf of Edevbie, to forgive any perceived infraction he might be feeling.

All these have, however, not swayed Okowa. He seems to be bent on vengeance against the Urhobos and Edevbie and does not care about the quality of who succeeds him.

Reacting on the development but pleading anonymity, a top member of Anioma Congress said he is worried about the spirit that is leading him in this matter.

“The Governor’s attitude is a bit strange to us as Anioma people. Delta North has got the Governorship when due to us. He was the beneficiary and became the Governor as he sought. He has done first term and he is about to finish second term. What else does he want? We always thought he is a true Christian. I cannot believe that he can hold a grudge against someone or a group of people for seven, going to eight years. The Bible says we should not let our anger see the setting of the sun, that we should forgive seventy times seven times, that if we have a grudge against our brother, we should first go and make peace before we approach the altar. So, how has he been praying and calling God all these years? How can we sacrifice having the most competent person for the development of our state just to feed somebody’s urge for vengeance? I pray God intervenes because such spirit should not rule us.”

However, a close source in the Delta PDP Executive Committee and also in Government House has explained that Okowa’s target goes beyond Edevbie.

“Okowa knows that Edevbie is the best but his motive is deeper than we can see. Yes, it is true he wants to hurt the Urhobos but he is only using those arguments of anger as a smokescreen. His real motive is to dislodge James Ibori as the father of the PDP in Delta, render him irrelevant in the politics of the state and at the national level so that he becomes the ultimate godfather. It is his style. Recall that he confessed that Rt Hon Monday Igbuya helped him so much to win the 2014 primaries, how did he reward Igbuya? He removed him as Speaker of the State House of Assembly. Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, as the state PDP Chairman and a leading figure in Anioma, went to London to get Ibori to confirm his support for rotation to Delta North which now benefitted Okowa. He has been driven out of the party. Imagine Delta boasting to be a PDP state but having two APC senators and one PDP Senator, yet Okowa wants us all to be comfortable so long as there is nobody to ask him questions. I don’t want to talk about Hon Friday Osanebi whom he practically also drove from the party. He has empowered a new brigade of subservient people. This is why you see the likes of Ejele (Michael Diden) Askia and Nani jumping up and down and sponsoring people to insult Ibori. As far as Okowa is concerned, Ibori should go to hell so that he can be the only man standing.”

These are truly the underlying issues in the PDP on the determination of the next Governor of Delta State.

It’s simply between those who want light by insisting on having the most competent hand to deliver on the development of the state and those who consider vendetta and ego more important that the progress of the state.

After all the talks, arguments, counter arguments, endorsement, no endorsement, the real task of governance is about knowledge and capacity to raise resources and the management skills to apply the resources for the development of the state and the people.

In everything, there is always good, better and best and it is clear to all Deltans that Edevbie stands out as the best, most qualified, most experienced, most competent, most exposed.

It is for this reason the Commonwealth Development Corporation assigned him to take charge of their development investments in Malaysia, India, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Pacifics and various other nations across the continents of the world.

It is for this reason that, just as Obasanjo saw and brought back our dear Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from the World Bank to help Nigeria clear its debts then, Ibori also saw and brought Edevbie back to serve Delta State. He proved himself from day one by raising the state finances from N6b in 1999 to over N60b by 2003 and led the fight for the payment of 13% Derivation to Niger Delta States which now provides the funds for DESOPADEC. Many Deltans have also testified to how he reformed the state finance processing system such that he doesn’t need to know you and you don’t need to see him before you get your pay or your due, which is truly how government should work.

It is for this reason that Yar’adua made him the Director of Finance and Strategy of his Presidential Campaign Organisation and later appointed him into the Presidency to serve as  Principal Secretary, a position by which he virtually administered the whole country. He proved his commitment to his people by conceptualising the Presidential Amnesty Programme which helped to stop militancy, fostered education and skills acquisition for the employability of Niger Delta youths and provided a peaceful environment to restore Nigeria’s oil production output without which the nation would long have collapsed. He also fought for the establishment of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to add another funding platform for the development of Niger Delta States.

It is for this reason that Governor Okowa brought him back to serve Delta State again as Commissioner of Finance and Chief of Staff for which Okowa has acknowledged that he has provided genuine leadership, invaluable professional skills and advice for the development of the state and does things like they are done in developed climes.

Such is the essence of Edevbie, the David of our time, anointed to kill the Goliaths of poverty, infrastructure deficits and low economic growth that affects our people.

Deltans, let us make no mistakes nor be deceived by any sentiments or propaganda. Let us stand with Edevbie for the greater development and modernisation of our dear Delta State.

By Smart OFUGARA

The reverend name Chief Obafemi Awolowo is synonymous with Free Education as it became a successful policy for empowerment, enlightenment, and resources for advancing society and human potential.
It was such a cherished legacy that later generations of leaders embraced free education as it was good for the growth of society and the people.

Across the old Western region (now Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti,Ondo, Edo and Delta), the importance of free education was felt with the governors who governed these states between 1979 and 1983.

The names of those governors have been remembered and institutions have been named after them.

That is what legacy is all about.

The roles played by these leaders were felt by the people.
They addressed issues of their days with the knowledge and resources that were available to them.

They were not negative, their fences were low. In fact, their fences were made of 🌱 beautiful flowers 🌺 .

During a discussion at a public forum, Professor Tomori wept before the nation. He told the story of how he left Ilesha as a young boy for secondary school in Ughelli under the care of the driver of the lorry that took him to Government College, Ughelli. A total stranger!

There was no kidnapping, loss of life, or dastardly act.
We had values for the sanctity of life. Everyone was his brother’s keeper.
We were happy as a people despite our differences in ethnicity.

In the journey of life and leadership, no one pays homage to the palaces, mansions and tombs where leaders are buried.

Only on rare occasions were visits made to the places where leaders are buried.

When leaders pass on to eternity, their deeds and legacies are discussed.

They are remembered for the impact they made in society and how it negatively or positively impacted the society they have led and left behind for future generations to inherit.

Until 1999, we had expressions of words such as austerity measures, structural adjustment program, belt tightening, securing our future.
These phrases were sold to the people to put them in check of the hardship that was ahead.
Yet, people went to work every mornings. Productions and services were carried out.

There were companies and multinationals employing people. Contractors and suppliers were busy scathing for businesses. Subcontracts were existing, schools were functioning at capacity and order was in society while relationships were built.

Politics was not a career. Neither were roles like SSA or PA regarded as forms of employment.

The legacy of the politicians who have led the nation from 1999 to 2023 will be remembered for the insecurity they successfully inflicted on our society.

These politicians will be remembered for aiding the evacuation of companies that existed and provided sources of livelihood to people.

They will be remembered for driving away foreign investors and companies.
They will be remembered for enhancing destructive tendencies in people whereby gangsterism became a norm to its highest levels.

They will be remembered for creating poverty rather than generating wealth for the people.

They will be remembered for not building upon the evolving society they met.

They will be remembered as a group of people who made society so insecure with their policies of incessant disruption of the norms and values that governed our society.

They will be remembered for failing to plan for the increase in population and projection associated with infrastructure.

They will be remembered for their myopic and narrow mindedness in governance.

They will be remembered as a group who made instability of prices for basic amenities to be out of the reach of the common man.

They will be remembered for failing to follow through with our development plans.

They will be remembered as people who built palatial mansions which they hardly slept in or homes where they became prisoners with the very high fences built to cover the beauty of these structures. Houses which will eventually be inhabited by cockroaches, reptiles and rats.

History will remember them for everything done to bring society down and for not striving to sustain systems of wealth and good governance which they were handed.

And I repeat, they will be remembered negatively and derided in no time.

Smart I. Ofugara

By Akpohdoma Michael Mikoko

2023 In View: A world bank study supervised by Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University has recommended the Anambra model of governance under Peter Obi administration for the rest of Africa and other developing countries.

Anambra is our next doorstep neighbour, Buhari bridge and old Niger Bridge is what separating Delta and Anambra respectively.

Who is Prof Paul Collier?

Sir Paul Collier, CBE, FBA is a British development economist who serves as the Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government and the director of the International Growth Centre

Who is David Edevbie?

He is British peculiarity, an alumnus of the University of Lagos, where he took a degree in Economics 1982 – 1985, most of Edevbie’s training is birthed in elite education.

He had a masters degree in Business Administration MBA from Cardiff Business School, the United Kingdom with proficiency in International Corporate Finance 1987 – 1988, culminating in advanced management training in Harvard Business School, Harvard University, USA.

His world-class tutelage would launch him into multinational corporations.

Beginning in 1988 in Barclays Bank, London rising as Manager’s Assistant Corporate Lending, Hill Samuel Merchant Bank 1992, Investment Banking Executive and subsequently Commonwealth Development Corporation (now known as CDC Group) also in the United Kingdom as an investment manager. To his credit, he was the head of Asia and Pacific Regions and later established the Philippines office, garnering high profile finance expertise.

Edevbie made a dramatic entry into Nigeria’s political space in 1999 when he flew home to assume office as commissioner for Finance and economic planning under the administration of Chief James Ibori in Delta state.

By the time his tour of duty ended in 2003, he had transformed a lethargic civil service from a slow outmoded bureaucracy weighed down by dusty files into a vibrant technological- savvy, computerized institution, leveraged by speedy and efficient operations in fiscal management.

His pedigree propelled him to national reckoning when he received an invitation to be the Director of Finance and strategy in the campaign of the then PDP presidential candidate, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua now late.

He was later appointed principal Secretary when Yar’Adua was elected president in 2007, serving until April 2010 after the death of the head of state, to establish his consulting firm, Avantgarde, reputed with tested portfolio in Power, Oil & Gas, Mining, Health, Telecommunication, Financial Markets and Hotels.

Delta state already have a Peter Obi model among us, before other Africa states will benefit from Prof. Paul Collier recommendation. Let’s collectively take
advantage of his service to the betterment of all Deltans.