The 2023 governorship election in Delta State will be contested by fifteen candidates, who are already warming up to kick-start campaigns.
It appears the race is going to be a two-horse raise between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), even though it might be foolhardy to dismiss other contesting political parties and their candidates.
The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sheriff Oborevwori and former commissioner for Finance, David Edevbie are still battling over the PDP governorship ticket and whoever won the legal tussle will slug it out with the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, of the APC.
Others in the race, according to the list of political parties and their candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at its state headquarters in Asaba, include Great Ogboru of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA); former minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP); Agbi Goodnews of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP); Ogba Samuel of African Democratic Party (ADP); Ekure Shedrack, African Democratic Congress (ADC); Gwede Jerkins Giane, Action Alliance (AA); America Emmanuel, National Rescue Movement (NRM) and Onokiti Helen of Accord Party (AP).
Others are Edijala Immanuel, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP); Okoh Emmanuel, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); Eke Kenny Ekene, Allied Peoples Movement (APM); Umudjane Sylvester of Boot Party (BP); Cosmas Anabel, Action Peoples Party (APP) and Sunny Ofehe of Young Progressive Party (YPP).
While Oborevwori has been listed as PDP’s candidate, based on the Court of Appeal judgment reinstating him, the last has not been heard about the matter, as Edevbie is challenging that decision at the Supreme Court.
Recall that at the May 25 primary election, Oborevwori polled 590 out of 825 votes to beat Edevbie, who garnered 113 votes. But Edevbie challenged Oborevwori’s participation in the primary on the grounds of alleged discrepancies in his academic qualifications, as well as his age, urging the court to order PDP to submit his (Edevbie’s) name as its flag-bearer.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, after hearing the matter, granted Edevbie’s prayers and sacked the Speaker on account of allegedly supplying false and forged documents to the INEC as part of his qualification for the governorship election.
Oborevwori is Okowa’s preferred man for the top job, while former governor, Chief James Ibori is backing Edevbie. All efforts and stakeholders meetings prior to the primary to prevail on the two political heavyweights to agree on one aspirant proved abortive, as Ibori stuck to Edevbie, a choice rejected by Okowa.
Oborevwori had appealed the lower court judgment at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which last month reinstated him as the authentic candidate, a decision now being challenged by Edevbie at the apex court. So, Oborevwori’s listing is only temporary, pending the outcome of the matter at the Supreme Court.
But whoever is finally pronounced, as the authentic candidate will have the tough assignment of rallying opponents and fellow party faithful under the rainbow umbrella to win the election.
The state PDP Chairman, Kingsley Esiso, assured that reconciliation is ongoing and is a continuous process that is going very well, adding that irrespective of the courts’ judgments: “Our house is fully in order; it’s strongly and unshakably in order. Disagreement is normal and part of democracy. We may disagree, but at the end of the day, we will agree.”
PDP is well-rooted in the state’s politics, which it has controlled since 1999, and it will need a coalition of parties to change the political dynamics in the state. Across the state, its supporters have continued to mobilise ahead of the election, irrespective of the outcome of the awaited court verdict.
Indeed, pioneer state chairman of the party and senator representing Delta South senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator James Manager, said: “Delta is PDP and PDP is Delta.”
AS for the APC, it appears to be succeeding in efforts to put its house in order ahead of the polls, with most of those formerly opposed to Omo-Agege’s domination of the party and final emergence as its flag-bearer gradually agreeing to work with him. But whether that would translate to electoral votes remains to be seen.
APC state Chairman, Chief Omeni Sobotie, told newsmen in Asaba that PDP has ruined the state enough and it is time for it to leave the stage for a credible party (APC) to take over government, having allegedly failed to provide the necessary democracy dividend to Deltans in its 23 years in the saddle.
Long before and during the congresses, Omo-Agege had ensured his top associates and aides occupied virtually all tangible party positions according to the state; hence he emerged the ultimate godfather of APC in the state, pitting him against other stakeholders, including his former ally, Ogboru, Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Victor Ochei; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) and former member of the defunct Interim management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Cairo Ojougboh.
With several meetings held and attended by members, such as Ochei, a former aspirant, and seeming recant by Keyamo, perhaps Omo-Agege is going into the race without a united house, as the song now, buoyed by the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu factor, is that they need to be united to be able to confront the PDP and change the narrative in Delta.
Until now, there was hardly any tangible presence of the party in the state capital, as most operations and activities of its candidate were organised from Abuja, making the PDP to tag him ‘Abuja politician.’ But that is expected to change with the commencement of campaigns.
Though 24 hours is a long time in politics, APC surely needs more than wishes to upstage PDP in Delta, despite the ruling party’s temporary challenges with its ticket and what many fear could be fallout of whatever judgment that comes out from the apex court on the matter.
Another politician to watch out for is Ogboru. But having contested almost all the elections since 2011 and lost at a time he was very popular and on a better platform, his chances this time are seen to be limited.
Analysts in the state said, he appears to be bigger than his party, APGA in Delta and without the support of former allies he left behind in APC, the result could be as predictable as in the past.
SDP’s Gbagi has promised industrial revolution in the state within one year if elected. The former minister of State for Education, who dumped PDP on the eve of its primary, said: “I believe that with all that is available over here, I will turn this state to glory. If you truly want your industries to be revamped, which I can do, I am the man to vote for. If you truly want your schools to be revived and your teachers paid salaries promptly, I am the man to vote for.
If you want your hospitals to have medical equipment, materials and medicines to dispense, I am the man to vote for. If you want me to remove all these pensioners who are dying without their pensions and gratuity been paid to them every day, I am the man to vote for. If you want transparency, to see how your government is run, how transparent it is, I am the man to vote for.”
A former chieftain of APC, Isoko-born Agbi is optimistic that his NNPP is poised to dethrone PDP and beat his former party to end the Ibori political dynasty in the state.
The Engineering lecturer at Delta State University (DELSU) said the state had not witnessed any meaningful development since 1999 when members of the Ibori dynasty started ruling state. Agbi is not new in the state’s politics, as he was Ibori’s only opponent in the governorship primary of the defunct Grassroots Democratic Party (GDM).
He also contested the PDP governorship primary in 2007, which former governor won, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Agbi was the pioneer deputy chairman of the National Youths Mobilisation of PDP in 1998, among other positions, but he dumped the PDP for the APC in 2014.
He is remembered as one of those who instituted the celebrated criminal case against Ibori. Ekure, who is the president of the Africa Youth Community (AYC), assured Deltans of better future and all- inclusive government if elected, calling on the young and the old to support his ambition. The rest candidates might just be content with being on the ballot.
