By Rev Fr Chris Ekabo, JP

I have painstakingly reviewed and considered the political debate arising from disagreements associated with transmission of political power within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, from 1999 till 2019.

Let me state from the outset that I am not a card carrying member of any registered political parties in Nigeria, but I am an eligible voter, one of the spiritual leaders involved in human rights and political matters in the Catholic Church. I usually encourage Christians to participate in active politics and to vote during elections and be voted for.

Democratic politics provides the opportunity for representative government, which is obviously one of the best form of human endeavours to provide good governance. And as a Catholic clergy I have been identifying and will continue to identify with governments at various levels to ensure sustainable democracy, facilitate socioeconomic and overall development of our states and country, Nigeria.

It follows that power rotation arrangement introduced by PDP at both state and national levels is indeed commendable and I strongly recommend that the founding fathers and leaders of the party should do everything and anything within their powers to sustain and improve the arrangement at all levels.

Power sharing or rotation guarantees equity, unity and peaceful coexistence among heterogeneous stakeholders across geographical and political interests in the state. It strengthens our shared political, cultural and socioeconomic interests. We must never loose the grip, which is why I decided to use this medium to add my voice to the sustainability of the arrangement.

In Delta State, it was alleged that power rotation arrangement in principle started in 2007, and that Chief James Ibori from Delta Central had to handover to Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan who served Delta South slot and later handed the mantle of leadership to Delta North, and incumbent governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, has been and still in the saddle since 2015, for and on behalf of the good peoole of Delta North Senatorial District.

However, the power rotation deal has been challenged consistently in time past and now; due largely to the alleged imposition circumstances that led to the emergence of Gov Uduaghan for Delta South and the serious opposition against Gov Okowa of Delta North by some political actors routing for Olorogun David Edevbie in 2015.

These highly complicated political contestation and/or disagreements led to the Ijaw Nation to now question the validity of the rotation arrangement, because in time past, the governorship contest was declared open for all aspirants from the three senatorial districts. For me, the arrangement in time past was neither here nor there. It was not transparent, doable and very complicated.

As complicated as the arrangement may have been, some political leaders claimed that even though all aspirants from the three senatorial districts were declared eligible to slug it out, major musketeers in PDP had put in place certain undisclosed strategies to ensure that the best and most popular aspirant from the beneficiary senatorial district got the party flag for the governorship election.

The above assertion by some political gladiators is not acceptable and no value of political or commonsense attached to it; because the yardstick is not known to aspirants and therefore can be very deceitful and misleading politically.

In the light of the above, I believe strongly that the power rotation arrangement should be sustained but PDP and other stakeholders must of a necessity find ways and means of setting rules and guidelines, such that only the beneficiary senatorial district should field aspirants; while leaders of the three senatorial districts are to consult the incumbent governor on which aspirant delegates should vote for based on competence, experience, character, integrity and other factors.

It is absolutely wrong for the contest to be open to governorship aspirants from the three senatorial districts within PDP. This kind of arrangement cannot and will never meet conditions for power rotation in the state. The time to face reality is now!

I therefore suggest that the governor of Delta State and Delta leader of PDP, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, state/senatorial party exco and leaders should meet to fine tune power rotation arrangement by setting standard rules, acceptable guidelines, as well as sanctions, so as to put to rest the bitter experiences of the past and move forward.

Among the three senatorial districts, it is clear that each district must wait for sixteen years to benefit from power rotation. And in the instant case, Delta Central is the only district that had waited for that period, from 2007 to 2023, in this dispensation.

Therefore, it is only fair based on equity and good conscience that governor Okowa’s successor in 2023 must of a necessity come from Delta Central. And it will be the turn of Delta South in 2031. This is the way to go and we must collectively place the peace and unity of this state, far and above ethnic or few individuals interests.

Let me also add that 2023 Delta Central candidate must not be imposed on us by any individual. It should be the collective agreement between the incumbent governor as the leader of the party, in consultation with past governors and stakeholders in the three senatorial districts.

I plead with the governor, past governors and leaders of PDP in Delta State, to consider my candid opinion and/or advise. They should do the needful to sustain and to give human face to power rotation in the state based on senatorial arrangement.

Finally, I urge Deltans to continue to give necessary support to our promise keeper, the platinum governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa KSC, so as to finish strong, and he will finish strong in 2023, by the special grace of God.

Long live Delta State, Long Live Nigeria.
***

The Writer: Rev Fr Dr Chris Ekabo is a Catholic Priest, Chairman of Warri Diocesan Politics Commission and Episcopal Vicar for Public Relations, Politics and Government Affairs

By Abiodun KOMOLAFE

Evidently, the strategic engagement tour recently embarked upon by Governor Gboyega Oyetola to all the local government areas (LGAs) in Osun State, was a veritable look-back mechanism, which afforded him a rare empirical assessment of the public administration journey so far. It was a good opportunity to have a peep at the status of his performance profile. Also, it was an assessment of reality, a very robust and truthful interaction with the people, and a sociological opportunity to evaluate first-hand and undeniably, the impact of his administration on the governed. It is sociological in that the electorate would remember that the governor came with campaign promises to bid for the Office of the Governor.

On assumption of office, Oyetola went round the state on a _‘Thank you’_ tour. It was from his interactions with the people that he learnt about their preferred and urgent needs. Agitations about policy issues in the state were harvested and pragmatic measures were put in place to address them, towards moving the state forward. Now that he’s winding up his first tenure, he has gone back to them to give an account of his stewardship. For a man to have confidence to go back to the people, it means he has done something worthwhile. Such is the story of the governor’s tour. With this tour, history has absolved him from living in denial or self-illusion when his performance in office is called to bear. But it can only get better!

With regard to the forthcoming Osun governorship election, it is generally believed that nothing will be taken for granted, even, in areas where the party is sure of voters’ sympathy. Yes, the governor cannot be everywhere; but the party is everywhere! So, it is the duty of the party to ensure victory in the election for the governor. Safe for some other important engagements, the crucial work of a political party is not just to recruit members but also to mobilise the electorate towards the objective interest of the party. Once it deviates from this essential function, then, the party ceases to be relevant. Basically, too, the power of incumbency only gives the holder an advantage to organise better than those who are not in power. Anything outside that is a lie! Of course, that’s why the man in power who is seeking another term in office cannot rest until victory is won.

The other area that the Oyetola-led government should be concerned about is the question of the roles that money plays in politics and the entire societal environment. Except we are being economical with the truth, the societal environment, right now, is an enveloping ecology of poverty and deprivation. The dangerous part of it is that poverty makes people do things without thinking. Logic will fly out of the window when poverty is around, biting hard. At that point, nothing else matters!

A time like this therefore demands that APC weighs the options between esoteric and down-to-earth interventions, especially, in a society that has become so degenerated like ours. A political party may be swimming in attractive manifestos, huge financial war chest and an extensive research outfit. It may also have charismatic go-getters as its flag-bearers. Even, the electoral process may be transparent and credible! However, it is after a society has been taken care of – to the extent that pecuniary issues become irrelevant – that politics of issues can take its rightful position. Or what issues will a man who has not yet satisfied the demands of the democracy of the stomach discuss? Talk about restructuring and he will want to know what to restructure when his home has not even been structured!

Discussions about _‘conspiracy at the top’_ mean next-to-nothing to an economically-disenfranchised man who has to live by the day! The late Lamidi Adedibu has shown that even, if the electorate will have to live with their actions, post-election day, the man who doles out N500.00 notes, conveniently immersed in loaves of bread – if he can sustain it for few months – is likely to have sympathisers on the day of election. Since Election Day is just a moment, it therefore behoves Osun APC to find ways of attacking these little foxes as the build-up to the governorship election intensifies, lest they become very difficult to handle.

That said, discreet investigations have revealed that the Oyetola-led government has been confronting these challenges, especially, through the _Osun Food Support Scheme_ and other _Social Intervention Programmes_ (SIP). For instance, at the last count, more than 300,000 vulnerable households in the state have reportedly benefited from the Scheme. Forget the imperfections that may be associated with it! However, the truth of the matter is that, if 30,000 residents of the state are being fed monthly, it therefore implies that no fewer than 3,000,000 households actually need such help. Going by the indices from the _National Bureau of Statistics_ (NBS), those factors can’t be ignored, more especially as they help in swaying the position of votes.

Only last October, 13,566 Osun youths were also said to have been empowered, courtesy of the N-Power programme, with a total of 2,034,900,000.00 having so far gone into their monthly allowances. Also, 798 and 851 non-graduate volunteers were recently engaged under N-Tech and N-Build respectively. Same goes for the Rapid Response Register, which has more than 50,000 applicants from Osun. Thankfully, too, there’s no part of the state that has not benefitted from the massive road construction or reconstruction embarked upon by the current administration. Ditto for the Education, Health, Agriculture and other and sectors, which have witnessed amazing turnarounds.

An ancient philosophy says: _‘if a man can’t find water to drink, he will opt for sand.’_ As July 16 draws nearer, chances are requests will come and demands will be made. Well, these are issues that neither the ruling party nor the government should ignore. Therefore, conscious efforts should be made to address them in the overall interest of the state, lest the opposition should capitalise on them to score cheap points.

Undecided voters are like matters of the moment; they can be easily flipped. Oyetola only needs to maintain his mien and sustain his tempo even as he strives to secure their buy-in. One sure way is for the party leadership to be alive to its responsibilities by educating its members on the dangers inherent in making unguarded statements. Talking amiss usually attracts ruinous consequences.

Since every deed has a consequence, political appointees should be adequately mobilised to reach at to their constituencies – where they hailed from – in the interest of the party. After all, they are (the) people from the grassroots who, by the reason of their births and interactions, can positively affect the swing of voting.

Still on the pranks of the hazardous adversaries, it is widely believed that there’s nothing the governor can do about it. He can only sustain his focus while not ignoring prospects for genuine membership.

Last of all, Governor Oyetola will be giving his second term ambition a great boost if he can take his case to God, for, with Him, nothing is impossible; without Him, nothing is possible!

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Osun State!

_*Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 07087941459 – SMS Only)._

The Movement for Stronger Delta, MSD, wants to state it loud and clear that Nobody can impose anybody on Deltans; not even Godfathers, not ethnic-based political pressure groups, and not even Traditional ruler’s groups or Senatorial based Traditional institutions.

Infact, in the history of Delta politics, it has never happened before and it is not likely to happen this time around. What usually obtains before the primaries, is that these groups identify who they prefer to support and then embark on a serious campaign of consultations, negotiations, and agreements with other contending interests to seek alignments and alliances in the quest to garner as many delegates for their favoured candidate.

Democracy is, of course, the government of the people, by the people and for the people and since the voice of the people is the voice of God, it is the people, either in form of nominated or elected delegates for the primaries or the electorate in a general election, that will decide who emerges as the winner at the end of any elections.

It is on the strength and basis of this incontrovertible electoral truism, therefore, that we must continue to appreciate, applaud and reemphasize the clear, unambiguous, and unequivocal statement of our dynamic, unwavering Governor, Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa (Ekwueme), that the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will be free, fair and transparent.

Thus, anybody who intends or nurses the personal ambition to govern Delta State, must take this declaration seriously and consider it as sacrosanct in whatever plans, strategies, and campaign module they chose to employ in the run-up to the primaries.

Of course, we have been informed by impeccable inside sources within certain political parties, that they have concluded arrangements to conduct mock primaries, where they have perfected plans to impose a single aspirant on the rest of the party membership with brazen impunity.

Interestingly, Deltans will recall with unerring accuracy, that no Governorship candidate that was imposed by a political party on its members during its primaries and on Deltans during the general election, has ever won any election in the State.

Those who have followed the political history of Delta State objectively can confirm that even in instances where people have shouted that imposition took place, especially in the PDP, the facts have revealed a totally different picture.

For example, many Deltans have falsely continued to perpetuate the erroneous logic that Chief James Ibori imposed a candidate on Deltans in 2007, for the simple reason that they were cousins, yet they forget that the same candidate would have been disqualified from the primaries completely, if not for a fortuitous, in-the-nick-of-time midnight trip to Abuja, which eventually secured a waiver for many of the aspirants to contest the primaries.

It is even rather unfortunate that those who have been trumpeting zoning with seeming reckless audacity and unjustified, unconstitutional authority, have done a great injustice to the tremendous efforts, humongous funds and extremely exerting and tortuous hard work which these aspirants put in, just to drive and fulfill their ambitions in every election.

We are indeed more disturbed by the fact that some of those who are vociferously advocating for zoning today, even to the extent of invoking cataclysmic repercussions should a particular arrangement not be maintained, have forgotten so soon, the “Uvwiamughe Declaration” preceding the 2014 PDP primaries, where the umbrella body of a particular Senatorial zone decided that they will give block votes to a national party that picks one of their own as its governorship candidate for the 2015 general elections.

This declaration was made irrespective of the political fact that it was only Delta North that had not taken its turn at the Governorship of the State, amongst the three senatorial zones and to consolidate on their position, they went ahead, without any qualms whatsoever, to throw their weight and block votes, to their candidate, even when the so-called zoning arrangement ‘demanded’ that it was Delta North’s turn to govern.

We must continue to extol the remarkable equanimity, political brinkmanship, courageous doggedness, and unparalleled sportsmanship of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who, even when it was obvious that Delta North should take its turn at the Governorship, still campaigned vigorously and admirably on a Pan-Delta mandate, declaring that he was going to be a Governor for all Deltans and not just a Senatorial district champion.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa participated in a robust, free, fair, and transparent PDP primary election in 2014 and the point must be made categorically clear that heavens would not have fallen, peace would have reigned and Delta State would still have continued to exist as ‘the Big Heart’ or even the ‘Finger of God’, if Okowa had lost that election and that Senatorial zone had carried the day with their candidate.

The simple and singular reason for the peace would have been because Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa (Ekwueme), is a man of peace, a God-fearing man, who has always pursued and championed the cause and entrenchment of peace, not just in his personal life but across Delta State. He did it in 2007, he did it in 2011, and he did it again in 2015, when, as Governor, he accommodated many of those who contested against him as Deltans, in the PDP Primary, in his cabinet. Nobody should therefore attempt to intimidate Governor Okowa. He will always do the right thing in the interest of peace, fairness, and EQUITY.

He is indeed a great and Godly man of peace that all politicians, political group leaders, traditional rulers, and institutions should emulate, instead of invoking restive echoes, for a better society and more harmonious coexistence amongst all Deltans.

If we must tell it like it is, then the naked truth that we are running away from or being economical with is the glaring truth that stares us all in the face and that the unambiguous truth that with the mandatory two terms of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa now achieved and winding down nicely, every Senatorial zone in the State has now had its taste of the Governorship, so nobody or zone will now cry or shout that it has been marginalized or short-changed.

This was the dangerous misnomer that nearly happened in 2015, when some people had cynically plotted with surreptitious subterfuge, to ensure that the two major political parties presented Governorship candidates from only their zone. But God intervened because power comes from God alone. Deltans still remember but as a people under the divine leadership of God, we have forgiven and moved on.

However, it must be pointed out in passing, that Delta State is a geographic entity of major heterogeneous nationalities, lumped together rather unfairly now, but in the wisdom of the delineators then, within cardinal Senatorial zones, coexisting in contiguous yet harmonious proximity, all contributing to the growth, development, commonwealth and collective patrimony of our dear State.

The need for us to join Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and embrace the clarion call towards building a #StrongerDelta for all Deltans is what we should all aspire towards achieving as we match steadily and peacefully towards 2023.

That, indeed, should be the SIMPLE Agenda for all Deltans henceforth.

© MOVEMENT FOR STRONGER DELTA.