Justice of the Peace and Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Communications, Olorogun Dr Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, JP, has berated the Assistant National Publicity Secretary of DC-23 political lobby group, Mr Festus Pemu, over what he called public display of gross incompetence in his assigned responsibility.
The media strategist in his response to DC-23 statement by Pemu, wherein he gave ultimatum to Oghenesivbe to retract his radio interview on power rotation, and apologise to chief James Ibori, said the lobby group cleverly overlooked the facts articulated in the interview and sort to seek refuge under the impeccable reputation of Chief James Ibori, adding that such face saving strategy does not hold waters in modern day media politics.
Oghenesivbe therefore requested DC-23 to revisit his well articulated events of 2014/2015 before and during PDP gubernatorial primaries, especially the critical roles played by some key promoters of DC-23, and the quest for Urhobo governor which prompted the emergence of two factions in Urhobo Progress Union, UPU.
He also demanded a straight forward answer to the question; whether or not Olorogun David Edevbie’s governorship ambition was not funded and supported by some chieftains of DC-23 in 2014/2015, and in the same token urged the group to immediately disband if their intention is to remotely and indirectly correct the odious and inordinate ambition of David Edevbie and his 2015 unbelievers in power rotation in the state.
The renowned political communication expert, fondly called “The Pen Eagle” by his admirers, revealed that promoters of DC-23 had a secret plan of using the group to launder the battered political image of David Edevbie, due to his anti power rotation roles in 2014/2015, and subsequently floated the group to rebrand his governorship ambition under power rotation for 2023 governorship election.
He further asserted that the group is now in a state of dilemma since he opted out of DC-23 and let the cat out of the bag, pointing out that if power rotation was well implemented in 2015, devoid of stiff opposition by some PDP aspirants like David Edevbie, Ovie Omo Agege, from Delta Central, there would not have been in any need for a group like DC-23 to lobby Delta North and South for the governorship slot in 2023.
The multiple award winner in communication and Information strategy frowned at the petty squabbles by DC-23 via response to his radio interview by bringing Chief James Ibori, into the picture in order to probably earn unmerited support and sympathy over failure to present a superior argument to the facts articulated in his candid opinion about what constitutes genuine and transparent power rotation.
He posited that genuine and transparent power rotation must be devoid of political deception and indirect back stabbing as was the case during PDP 2014 gubernatorial party primaries in Asaba, adding that he was not included in DC-23 exco as a pioneer media officer because the group was not comfortable with his obvious loyalty to governor Okowa, in view of the group’s hiden agenda to present David Edevbie as Urhobo consensus governorship candidate after the misleading lobby tour of the state.
“DC-23 lobby group is more or less a scam, because you can only lobby when things are not right, or when you think you don’t merit a particular favour or position.
“And if the power rotation was well implemented in 2015, such that the beneficiary senatorial district (Delta North) was allowed to get the power without stiff opposition from some power hungry individuals in Delta central, there would have been no need for a lobby group in 2021. That DC-23 emanated from Delta central goes to show that something went wrong that the group wants to diplomatically correct without owning up to the express repudiation of power rotation by David Edevbie and some key promoters of the group.
“And instead of DC-23 to respond adequately to the issues raised and recommendations offered for Delta Central to easily scale the hurdle, one politically irrelevant Festus Pemu, who knows next to nothing in the chess game of media politics, called me out to apologise to our amiable leader, Chief James Ibori. Apologise for what?
“Let me state it clearly that the major stakeholders and promoters of DC-23 refused to include me in their Exco, even though I was the pioneer media officer, because I previously published my resentments about Edevbie’s governorship ambition without a corresponding attitude to occupy the office of governor, as contained in my analysis
“I recall that one Dr Amos Ighorodje, who is also a front line promoter of DC-23, called me to express his concern in favour of Edevbie’s candidacy in 2023, and subsequently discussed my position with Chief Ighoyota Amori. And because Edevbie, is DC-23 Principal, they had a rethink and decided to drop me from exco on the strength of my previous dissenting voice on Edevbie’s aspirations and my obvious loyalty to Governor Okowa. They felt it will not be safe to have me in exco where strategies for Edevbie will be discussed since I already showed reasonable signs of disapproval towards his governorship ambition.
“Let me make it clear to Pemu and his cotravellers that none of them have been able to publish stories and articles in defence or commemdation of Chief Ibori than my humble self. I have lost count of my media interviews and published articles expressing my unrepentant support for Chief Ibori and I deserve commendations and not cheap blackmail. I will continue to appreciate the roles of Chief Ibori in good governance and growth of constitutional democracy in Nigeria.
“Recently, the mass media was saturated with what APC national government called the repatriation of IBORI LOOT. And Deltans and Nigerians can testify to my media defence of Chief Ibori. I spent my hard earned money on media relations, traveled round media houses defending Chief Ibori on Radio and Television stations, and also wrote several stories and articles to that effect. Where was DC-23 members and Festus Pemu? They were muted perpetually.
“In all my efforts writing and articulating the political sagacity and achievements of Chief Ibori in nation building, state and national politics, I did not receive a phone call of ‘thank you’ from either Chief Ibori or any of his loyalists that have benefited from his kindness.
“All my life and years of writing about Chief Ibori, I have never been appreciated either in cash or in kind. One Philo Ededey recently said that Chief Ibori has been compensating me with huge sums of money for my media efforts. And my response was that is either she lost her brains in alcohol or that she collected the money from Chief Ibori or she knew the person who collected the money on my behalf but refused to remit same to me. Or that she assumed that the person had credited the money to my bank account.
“I have never had a mere handshake with Chief Ibori, not to talk of receiving a penny that had a hole on it from Chief Ibori, but I am not complaining. Only for a mislead Pemu, suffering from acute verbal diarrhea and cancer of the tongue, to provoke me with his self defeating statement from the pit of hell. DC-23 has lost taste and steam because of their politics of deception and obvious lack of serenity in dealing with the fractured power rotation of 2014/2015 by their Principal, Olorogun David Edevbie and his political associates.
“In my radio interview under reference, I did say that it was rumoured that Chief Ibori phoned from London directing those concerned to allow Okowa to have the day, and I also said that David Edevbie ought to have stepped down for Okowa before the primaries on the strength of Ibori’s instructions but he failed to comply.
“And I remember saying that it is either Edevbie disobeyed the instructions of our amiable leader, Chief Ibori, to stepdown for Okowa, or that Chief Ibori did not remember to instruct him to do so. And I also said his instructions may have come late judging from the number of delegates that still voted for Edevbie, under the power rotation arrangement. What then constitutes insults in all of these that Pemu and his DC-23 propagandists want me to apologise for?
“I am pretty sure that DC-23 is hiding something terrible which is why the group is scared of facts emanating from 2014/2015 PDP party primaries. They cannot ignore it, a d it cannot be bypassed. The must face it, address it, resolve it and vow to be sincere in future elections, not political deception.
“And until they are remorseful, honest and bold enough to address the power rotation repudiation of 2014/2015 by their principal, David Edevbie and his associates, their coded lobby may end in fiasco, an exercise in futility, but I pray God, to clothe them with the spirit of humility to own up and do the needful,” Oghenesivbe added.
I STAND WITH OKOWA.