As the political atmosphere in Delta State gets thicken with political gladiators on whom to succeed the incumbent Governor Doctor Ifeanyi Okowa, a pan Delta pressure group, Delta Lives Matter (DLM) has cautioned politicians and other groups not to heat up the polity but allow Governor Okowa to Present his successor (candidate) for Deltans to decide.
The group at a press conference in Asaba, the state capital presided over by its global coordinator Mr. Christian Moses Abeh, Flanked by other members frowned at the recent Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) endorsement of one of the PDP aspirants.
The group described it as an act inimical to the internal affairs of political parties on how it go about selecting or electing candidates for the general elections.
“Recall that UPU recently endorsed an aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), David Edevbie as the choice of Urhobo nation for the governorship. This development caused uproar in the political sphere of the state thereby hitting up the polity.
Abeh who urged the apex socio-cultural body in Delta Central to wait for candidates to emerge from the various political parties before endorsing any one as choice of Urhobo said Edevbie is not more qualified than other aspirants either in PDP, APC or other parties.
“Edevbie is not more qualified for the office of the governor than Kenneth Gbagi, Ovie Omo-Agege and Sheriff Oborevwori who have held more sensitive positions in governance. UPU always love to heat up the polity every election year, and they love working against the interest of peace.
Begging Okowa to support David Edevbie amongst others is an insult on not just the governor, other governorship aspirants but the entire state, Abeh stated.
“Standing as surety is not just injurious to David the entire Urhobo nation. We expected the UPU to apologise over the role David Edevbie played as Commissioner for Finance under the Ibori’s administration for six years,” he said.
Abeh urged stakeholders in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to giver Governor Ifeanyi Okowa the free hand to pick the party’s candidate.
“If James Ibori can produce two successors (Emmanuel Uduaghan and Okowa), what is wrong with Okowa producing his successor or flag bearer of his party?
“The governor should be given right of refusal to produce not just the flag bearer of his party but successor, provided the person will not just complete ongoing projects but also initiate good projects and policies that will better the living standard of the people.
“Ibori was given that right in 2006, Dr. Uduaghan had it until he decided to let Ibori snatch it from him in 2014,” Abeh noted.
It has been a tradition that a sitting Governor who after his terms in office be allowed to produce his successor, provided the candidate is popular. We don’t understand the hang-up and sponsored media attacks by unpopular aspirants against the Governor.
Meanwhile, we remember that the governor have ask his Delta North people not to contest the governorship. This was something Ibori and Uduaghan could not ask their people to do against other zones. We expected Chief Ibori to pologize to the state for atrocities committed against our treasury that boasting of giving us David Edevbie as Okowa’s successor.
In another development, on the150 billion naira Delta money, the group said Deltans should stop playing politics with everything. The money is for the interest of the state and the government will be prudent in using it to fund projects across the state, better the living standard of the people and pay pensioners.