By Mike Uzunye Udugba
Since the recent meeting of some PDP governorship aspirants from Delta
state in the Abuja private residence of first republic Minister of
Information, Chief Edwin Clark, the issue has continued to generate debate
in the state. This is not unconnected to the communiqué issued by the
aspirants at the end of the meeting where they expressed their objection
to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan having any say in who succeeds him in 2015.
The aspect of the communiqué which the people of Delta found very
intriguing and nauseating is where they threatened fire and brimstone if
the speculated choice aspirant of Governor Uduaghan is allowed to pick the
PDP ticket. They insisted that the primaries must be ‘democratic’ and that
there should not be any opportunity for anyone to ‘impose’ a governorship
candidate. They even tried to subtly blackmail President Goodluck Jonathan
by threatening not to support him if the outgoing governor is allowed by
the PDP to ‘anoint’ a successor as they claimed that Delta is not the
patrimony of any family in the state.
The position of the aspirants, who are now known as the Association of 14
Abuja Governorship Aspirants, has already backfired as the people of the
state have kicked against their indiscretion into believing a politician
residing outside the state will determine who succeed Uduaghan and had to
take such a crucial meeting to Abuja. The angst of the people of Delta
state against the aspirants has resulted in some of the aspirants
disowning the communiqué and alleging that their signatures were forged by
the conveners of the meeting.
What most indigenes of Delta state found very nauseating is the frontline
role played Chief Edwin Clark and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who is the leader
of the Association of 14 Abuja Governorship Aspirants. Delta people are at
a loss on how Edwin Clark and Senator Okowa can today be asking for
“equity, open transparent primaries and non-imposition of candidate” when
it is common knowledge that these are attributes that follow them like
their shadow.
If anyone is a major beneficiary of imposition of candidate without open
primaries in Delta state it is Chief Clark and Senator Okowa. Perhaps Papa
Clark can be forgiven for pretending to be a democrat because of old age
and possibility of senile dysfunction setting in cannot be overruled. If
not for loss of memory how can Chief Clark forget so soon that his son,
who is the Chairman of Burutu local government, Ebikeme Clark, got into
office without primary election? Before the election the aging politician
had pleaded that he was robbed of the position four years ago and begged
that his son be given automatic ticket for his local government. This
request came at a time when PDP had more experienced and better qualified
aspirants than Ebikeme Clark in the race for the Burutu chairmanship. As a
respected leader of the party in the local government he was obliged and
his son found himself in office as chairman without going through the
rigours of open primary election. The elder statesman has also assisted
several others to ascend to elective offices without passing through
primaries.
If Chief Clark can be forgiven for forgetting he is a major beneficiary of
a system that short circuits open primaries, the same privilege cannot be
extended to Senator Okowa. For more than a decade Okowa was the Lord of
the Manor in Ika Federal Constituency where he determines who gets what
elective position in the area without recourse to open primaries. It is
common knowledge that all the Councillors and Chairmen of Ika North Local
Government over the years are the anointed appointees of Okowa. Okowa
never allowed open primaries for members of PDP to elect who should fly
the party flag in the area. The incumbent Chairman of Ika North East local
government, Barrister Francis Ebonka, is similarly imposed on the party by
Senator Okowa without transparent primaries. Worst of all, he does not
give room for any dissenting voice and those that dare challenge his
authority to anoint PDP candidates in Ikaland pay dearly for the
effrontery. Okowa authoritarianism and undemocratic tendencies are
comparable to the suffocating influence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the
politics of Lagos state.
It is also common knowledge in Ika Federal Constituency that anytime the
PDP national secretariat stops Okowa from handpicking the PDP candidate he
resorts to anti-party activities and ensure his anointed candidate defects
to opposition party to contest against PDP candidates. Two examples will
suffice here. When wife of former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr (Mrs.)
Mariam Ali picked the PDP ticket some years back, Senator Okowa engineered
Senator Patrick Osakwe to defect to the Accord Party and ensured all his
(Okowa) cronies that he put into office as local government chairmen and
councillors worked against PDP candidate and that was how Mrs. Ali lost
the election.
Again in 2007 when the incumbent member representing Ika Federal
Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Victor Nwokola, whose
was sponsored by Senator Okowa lost the PDP ticket, Senator Okowa pushed
him into the Accord Party and openly did anti-party with his cronies to
ensure PDP candidate was schemed out. Yet he pretends to remain a loyal
member of PDP.
If Senator Okowa think in his wildest imagination that an outgoing
Governor will not have an input over who will likely succeed him them he
is in for a shocker. Even from Biblical times responsible leaders play a
role on who takes over from them. It is called grooming. For example
Prophet Elija groomed Prophet Elisha just as Joshua took his tutelage
under Moses before he became the leader of the Israelites. Back home here
former President Olusegun Obasanjo played key role in the emergence of
late President Umaru Yar’Adua; Bola Ahmed Tinubu picked Babatunde Fashola
to succeed him; Danjuma Goje endorsed the emergence of immediate past
Accountant General of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwabo, as his successor
in Gombe state, just to mention a few.
One reason the people of Delta are happy about the speculation that
Governor Uduaghan is supporting Victor Obuh as his successor is that Obuh
is someone who has been thoroughly groomed in the act of governance. He
was a carrier civil servant that served the state in various capacities
for over 30 years (from Bendel to Delta). For almost 10 years he worked
closely with Uduaghan in various capacities and was Permanent Secretary in
Governor’s office for about eight years. This makes him the administrative
head of the Governor Office and it is very difficult to convince anyone
that this position is not adequate to prepare anyone for governance. If
Uduaghan believes Sir Obuh is the one that can sustain the tempo of
development in the state, especially the Delta Beyond Oil initiative, then
so be it. The people of Delta who have been benefiting from these people
oriented programs will go along with the choice of Uduaghan no matter
whose ox is gored. Those that pretend to be latter day democrats in Abuja
cannot decide the fate of the people of Delta state in 2015 and beyond.
Mike Uzunye Udugba wrote in from Hospital Road, Idumu-Ilege, Umunede,
Delta state. Email: mudiak5@gmail.com
End