By Mike Uzunye Udugba<\/p>\n
Since the recent meeting of some PDP governorship aspirants from Delta
\nstate in the Abuja private residence of first republic Minister of
\nInformation, Chief Edwin Clark, the issue has continued to generate debate
\nin the state. This is not unconnected to the communiqu\u00e9 issued by the
\naspirants at the end of the meeting where they expressed their objection
\nto Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan having any say in who succeeds him in 2015.<\/p>\n
The aspect of the communiqu\u00e9 which the people of Delta found very
\nintriguing and nauseating is where they threatened fire and brimstone if
\nthe speculated choice aspirant of Governor Uduaghan is allowed to pick the
\nPDP ticket. They insisted that the primaries must be \u2018democratic\u2019 and that
\nthere should not be any opportunity for anyone to \u2018impose\u2019 a governorship
\ncandidate. They even tried to subtly blackmail President Goodluck Jonathan
\nby threatening not to support him if the outgoing governor is allowed by
\nthe PDP to \u2018anoint\u2019 a successor as they claimed that Delta is not the
\npatrimony of any family in the state.<\/p>\n
The position of the aspirants, who are now known as the Association of 14
\nAbuja Governorship Aspirants, has already backfired as the people of the
\nstate have kicked against their indiscretion into believing a politician
\nresiding outside the state will determine who succeed Uduaghan and had to
\ntake such a crucial meeting to Abuja. The angst of the people of Delta
\nstate against the aspirants has resulted in some of the aspirants
\ndisowning the communiqu\u00e9 and alleging that their signatures were forged by
\nthe conveners of the meeting.<\/p>\n
What most indigenes of Delta state found very nauseating is the frontline
\nrole played Chief Edwin Clark and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who is the leader
\nof the Association of 14 Abuja Governorship Aspirants. Delta people are at
\na loss on how Edwin Clark and Senator Okowa can today be asking for
\n\u201cequity, open transparent primaries and non-imposition of candidate\u201d when
\nit is common knowledge that these are attributes that follow them like
\ntheir shadow.
\nIf anyone is a major beneficiary of imposition of candidate without open
\nprimaries in Delta state it is Chief Clark and Senator Okowa. Perhaps Papa
\nClark can be forgiven for pretending to be a democrat because of old age
\nand possibility of senile dysfunction setting in cannot be overruled. If
\nnot for loss of memory how can Chief Clark forget so soon that his son,
\nwho is the Chairman of Burutu local government, Ebikeme Clark, got into
\noffice without primary election? Before the election the aging politician
\nhad pleaded that he was robbed of the position four years ago and begged
\nthat his son be given automatic ticket for his local government. This
\nrequest came at a time when PDP had more experienced and better qualified
\naspirants than Ebikeme Clark in the race for the Burutu chairmanship. As a
\nrespected leader of the party in the local government he was obliged and
\nhis son found himself in office as chairman without going through the
\nrigours of open primary election. The elder statesman has also assisted
\nseveral others to ascend to elective offices without passing through
\nprimaries.<\/p>\n
If Chief Clark can be forgiven for forgetting he is a major beneficiary of
\na system that short circuits open primaries, the same privilege cannot be
\nextended to Senator Okowa. For more than a decade Okowa was the Lord of
\nthe Manor in Ika Federal Constituency where he determines who gets what
\nelective position in the area without recourse to open primaries. It is
\ncommon knowledge that all the Councillors and Chairmen of Ika North Local
\nGovernment over the years are the anointed appointees of Okowa. Okowa
\nnever allowed open primaries for members of PDP to elect who should fly
\nthe party flag in the area. The incumbent Chairman of Ika North East local
\ngovernment, Barrister Francis Ebonka, is similarly imposed on the party by
\nSenator Okowa without transparent primaries. Worst of all, he does not
\ngive room for any dissenting voice and those that dare challenge his
\nauthority to anoint PDP candidates in Ikaland pay dearly for the
\neffrontery. Okowa authoritarianism and undemocratic tendencies are
\ncomparable to the suffocating influence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the
\npolitics of Lagos state.<\/p>\n
It is also common knowledge in Ika Federal Constituency that anytime the
\nPDP national secretariat stops Okowa from handpicking the PDP candidate he
\nresorts to anti-party activities and ensure his anointed candidate defects
\nto opposition party to contest against PDP candidates. Two examples will
\nsuffice here. When wife of former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr (Mrs.)
\nMariam Ali picked the PDP ticket some years back, Senator Okowa engineered
\nSenator Patrick Osakwe to defect to the Accord Party and ensured all his
\n(Okowa) cronies that he put into office as local government chairmen and
\ncouncillors worked against PDP candidate and that was how Mrs. Ali lost
\nthe election.<\/p>\n
Again in 2007 when the incumbent member representing Ika Federal
\nConstituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Victor Nwokola, whose
\nwas sponsored by Senator Okowa lost the PDP ticket, Senator Okowa pushed
\nhim into the Accord Party and openly did anti-party with his cronies to
\nensure PDP candidate was schemed out. Yet he pretends to remain a loyal
\nmember of PDP.<\/p>\n
If Senator Okowa think in his wildest imagination that an outgoing
\nGovernor will not have an input over who will likely succeed him them he
\nis in for a shocker. Even from Biblical times responsible leaders play a
\nrole on who takes over from them. It is called grooming. For example
\nProphet Elija groomed Prophet Elisha just as Joshua took his tutelage
\nunder Moses before he became the leader of the Israelites. Back home here
\nformer President Olusegun Obasanjo played key role in the emergence of
\nlate President Umaru Yar\u2019Adua; Bola Ahmed Tinubu picked Babatunde Fashola
\nto succeed him; Danjuma Goje endorsed the emergence of immediate past
\nAccountant General of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwabo, as his successor
\nin Gombe state, just to mention a few.<\/p>\n
One reason the people of Delta are happy about the speculation that
\nGovernor Uduaghan is supporting Victor Obuh as his successor is that Obuh
\nis someone who has been thoroughly groomed in the act of governance. He
\nwas a carrier civil servant that served the state in various capacities
\nfor over 30 years (from Bendel to Delta). For almost 10 years he worked
\nclosely with Uduaghan in various capacities and was Permanent Secretary in
\nGovernor\u2019s office for about eight years. This makes him the administrative
\nhead of the Governor Office and it is very difficult to convince anyone
\nthat this position is not adequate to prepare anyone for governance. If
\nUduaghan believes Sir Obuh is the one that can sustain the tempo of
\ndevelopment in the state, especially the Delta Beyond Oil initiative, then
\nso be it. The people of Delta who have been benefiting from these people
\noriented programs will go along with the choice of Uduaghan no matter
\nwhose ox is gored. Those that pretend to be latter day democrats in Abuja
\ncannot decide the fate of the people of Delta state in 2015 and beyond.<\/p>\n
Mike Uzunye Udugba wrote in from Hospital Road, Idumu-Ilege, Umunede,
\nDelta state. Email: mudiak5@gmail.com
\nEnd<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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