2015 Guber: Who can stop Orubebe? ...Will Clark, Ogboru, Okowa, Ochie, Okubor and others stop him? … Deltans need a verifiable political credentials and not an aspiration based on sentiments - Ogedegbe Author: By Omafume Amurun With the recent speculations in some newspapers that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has the backing of both President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to contest the 2015 governorship elections and what seems to be graveyard silence by both men to deny this rumour, it seems all things being equal, Delta state already has a governor in waiting if past experiences are anything to go by. The boldness of Elder Orubebe’s supporters in rubbishing the Ijaw National leader, Chief Edwin Clark in various newspapers after his statement that the minister can’t be governor, might also be an indication that the minister may have the backing of some “powerful godfather”. Elder Orubebe’s drive towards the governorship seat did not start today. It will be recalled that during the reconciliation meetings between Chief Edwin Clark faction of the State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and that of the Governor Uduaghan, the Urhobo Times, your authoritative newspaper reported that the move may have succeeded in uniting the Gov. Uduaghan led faction and the Elder Godsday Orubebe group within the Chief Clark faction, resulting to the rejection of the ward and local government congresses by some Chief Clark’s faction members. However, when Chief Clark returned from medical vacation, he succeeded in removing some of Elder Orubebe’s “boys” from the state PDP Executive, who later dragged the state PDP executive to court. Chief Clark’s moves to get the case out of court had failed so far. During that crisis, Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan while responding to claims by Chief Godwin Ogbetuo who stood in for Chief Clark -led faction, explained thus, “these are mainly people from the E.K Clark group who are not in the PDP but DPP and have refused to join the PDP properly.” The Governor said further, “Chief Ogbetuo was always sitting by Great Ogboru throughout the campaign. He never attended any of the PDP leaders meetings held in Asaba or Warri. The agreement was for everyone to go to his or her ward for the ward congress. They refused to go, instead, they kept calling Chief E.K Clark who is in the UK and fed him with lies”. “The Minister and I to the knowledge of the National secretariat, have been deep in bringing normalcy to the party and these non-party members cannot derail us” the Governor said. Chief Ogbetuo group in a communiqué which they claimed was authorized by Chief Clark alleged that, some of their members (indirectly referring to Elder Orubebe) appointed to monitor the process of harmonization, hijacked the process and turned it into a persona opportunity to promote persona political interest above Chief Clark traditional supporters. “It’s unfortunate that some of our members who were saddled with harmonization of both groups, abandoned their functions and substituted Clark’s structure with they loyalists, to these, characters harmonization and ward congress took place as far as their have planted their own structure, but we refused to accept this because, we cannot substitute one illegality with another”. He said. Those appointed were, Chief (Bar.) Kenneth Gbagi, Delta Central, Dr. Cairo Ojuoghoh, Delta North and Elder Godsday Orubebe, Delta South. The group said they were to monitor the process of harmonization with Governor Uduaghan and report facts to Chief Clark, but alleged that this was not the case as they hijacked the process. From the event of about a year ago, it seemed clear that Elder Orubebe has been maneuvering and positioning himself to take over Chief Clark faction and used it to better his governorship ambition. Recent events have showed that he had the support of powerful godfathers and they are just waiting for the appropriate time to finally demolish Chief Clark’s structure before the 2015 election. If past events are anything to go by, then we present to you, Elder Godsday Orubebe, Delta State governor, 2015. After his election, they will now reach out to all the “disgruntled elements” and settle those who can be settled, while stubborn opponents will gradually be economically emasculated and brought down to their knees. History is about to repeat itself. The question now is, can Chief Great Ogboru, Engr. Victor Ochei, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and Dr. Festus Okunbor, the so called dark horse, stop Elder Orubebe who has put a final nail on the casket of the so-called PDP zoning agreement? Meanwhile, there are speculations that, just like the factor that brought in the incumbent governor, Dr. Uduaghan of Delta state, the man being groomed to succeed Dr. Uduaghan is a dark horse who will be known as the governor's candidate at the last minute. This facts became clear recently when in an interview, Gov. Uduaghan did not hide his intention of having a decisive say on who will succeed him when he said, “Let me give you an example, I think it will be difficult for anybody to wakeup and just push away somebody who was a Commissioner for four years, Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), for almost four years and a governor now for five years and by God’s grace…, I think it will be difficult to just push that person away, that is to say that the person is not relevant in any electoral process in the state. “I think that any person who thinks like that must have little understanding of politics. The political situation in the state has built up certain persons that are of relevance, such that if you want to get anything from the state and you think such persons are not relevant, it may not be me as a Governor, but there are certain persons and you think they are not relevant, eh, I think you are making an expensive mistake.” However, there are various issues that will come to play, particularly in respect of which part of the state should produce the next governor. While politicians from Delta North particularly Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members are claiming that it is their turn to produce the next Governor, going by the party's zoning formula, some PDP members, particularly the Urhobos from Delta Central do not believe that there is anything like zoning as in the last two PDP governorship primaries, candidates from all senatorial districts, contested for the post. Couple with this, is the Chief Ogboru factor; Chief Ogboru, the DPP governorship candidate in the 2011 elections who is from Delta central, the most populated part of the state is generally believed to have won the last governorship election, if the election were not "allegedly rigged". He is still very popular with large number of fanatical followers However, statements made some time ago by Governor Uduaghan could be a sign of what to expect in 2015. According to the Urhobo Times, an authoritative local newspaper, the Governor hiding under a so-called Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) policy, was said to be subtly discouraging persons from Delta Central from aspiring for the governorship post while allegedly encouraging others, at the same time keeping to his chest, his joker, just like ex-governor James Ibori did during primaries that brought him to power. Those currently being allegedly encouraged by the governor and are now setting up structure to eventually contest for the post are the Speaker, Delta House of Assembly, Hon Ochei, an engineer, while the current Secretary to the State Government(SSG) Comrade Ovuozorie Macualay is expected to run with him as deputy governor. Also, being encouraged to aspire for the governorship post is Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, while the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon is expected to be his deputy. All these persons are known to belong to the Ibori/Uduaghan political dynasty. There are also “dark horses” like the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Okunbor, Hon. Sam Obi former Speaker and acting governor, the deputy governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, Chief Godstime Obiulum, Professor Pat Utomi and Activist Festus Keyamo One of the most popular structure set up by a governorship aspirant from the Delta north is the Delta Central Political Movement (DCPM) headed by Chief Olori Magege who recently made a controversial statement that the next governor was already known to him and called on all its members to prepare for a victory parade as the in-coming governor “is a man who is Urhobo at heart”, a clear indication that the movement is front for an aspirant from the Delta north or south. Responding to a question on why they were confident that the next governor would be their candidate, Chief Olori Magege, the group’s Protem National Chairman said, their statements were based on “optimism” adding “we are not going to be follow, follow forever” He said further, “when we say we are going to form the next government, we mean we will be part of the victory and installation of the new governor.” He said his group was made up members who were honest, focused, dedicated and service-oriented people who have the Urhobo people at heart. Chief Magege, who is also the Chairman, Delta State Waste Management Board said the next governor would do better and improve on the achievements of Governor Uduaghan. He dismissed insinuations that Gov. Uduaghan was involved in their project saying, “Let me tell you this. I am not playing a script of the governor. I will not play the script of anybody. But If anybody says that his Excellency, the Governor will not be interested in who succeeds him in 2015, that person is not a politician. Everywhere in the world, even in the churches, the outgoing Bishop is interested in who succeeds him. So, there is nowhere on earth that somebody in government will not be interested in who succeeds him. Does the governor not want the continuity of his programme. We are pragmatic politicians.” Explaining further, Chief Magege said the first quality of the next governor of the state was that he must be an Urhobo man at heart. “If you are not Urhobo at heart, even if you are Urhobo and you think we are going to dance after you, no way. You must be Urhobo at heart. If you are not Urhobo, you must be a dedicated Urhobo at heart”. According him, the DCPM recognized the fact that Urhobos are living in a pluralistic society and “we have to love and protect everybody. We are honest, that is why people are flocking to our meetings. We have sworn that we will be honest and will not deceive our people. We are not sponsored by anybody. We have not taken anybody’s money and do not want any aspirant to bring money to us. We are not driven by the lustre of wealth”. It will be recalled also that at a recent meeting of the party caucus, presided over by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, his Political Adviser; Chief Ighoyota Amori called for the restructuring of the PDP zoning system so that no senatorial district could hold the post of party Chairman and governorship at the same time. It was gathered that at that meeting, the Governor Uduaghan however said the party had a precedent to guide them. He explained that when the post of party Chairman was held by Delta South zone, they held the post for eight years, same with Chief James Ibori from Delta Central who was Governor for eight years. He argued that to ensure stability in the party, the precedent must be adhered to. It was gathered that nobody contracted the Governor when he concluded his speech during the meeting, but the issue has continued to generate tension particularly in Delta Central, where some of the PDP Stakeholders argued that to allow the Governor’s argument to stand, only means that the PDP would lose control of Delta Central woefully in the next general election, just as it did in the 2011 general elections. It was gathered that a new consensus was emerging in the Delta Central to completely abandon the PDP, as the Delta Central from the experience of the last few years had not benefitted from being part of the PDP and could continue to play second fiddle. Only time will tell whether the Delta Central people will completely abandoned the PDP, if an aspirant from there do not emerge as the party’s governorship candidate and support their son Chief Great Ogboru or Senator Pius Ewherido believed to be also eyeing the governorship post and which party platform they would use due to the current disagreement in the ranks of the DPP and the emergence of All Progressive Congress (APC) Commenting on the issue, Rights Activists and constitutional lawyer, Bar. Omens Ogedegbe said the basis for Elder Orubebe's aspiration is senseless. He said Elder Orubebe was not informed as to what it takes to be Governor in a democratic set up and that by the declaration of intent, his aspiration is only on the basis that it is the turn of the Ijaws to produce the next Governor. He pointed out that, those who in this modern era, advocate for zoning and tribal rotation were ignorant of modern day politics and sadly, Elder Orubebe is a student of that ideological class. “One has expected with the various positions held by Orubebe over time and more recently serving as a stooge of the presidency, he would have presented to Deltans, a verifiable political credentials and not an aspiration based on sentiments. The Ijaws no doubt belongs to the Delta south that currently occupies the government house. According to him, Orubebe's idea of becoming a governor if upheld, means that the Isokos will thereafter agitate on the basis of their turn. “I have always advocated that those who feel disabled and want to weep sentiment, by taking us to the uncivilized era of tribal politics, do not have a place in our democratic experience.” On the move by Elder Orubebe to seek for the governorship post, Comrade Austin Ozobo, National President, Ijaw People Development Initiative (IPDI), said Orubebe’s ambition was a naked dream. “One thing is to dream, another is to actualize it and not every dream is feasible. Orubebe may be governor after 2015. He has already lost support from his Ijaw home for daring the Ijaw nation and its national leader, Chief Clark. He has bitten the hand that fed him. He forgot so soon of how Papa Clark and other Niger Delta patriots made him Minister. He is an ingrate. Ijaw will not make this mistake again. If we make him Governor, he will still disappoint us. Ijaw will stop him. We will vote for any credible aspirant and not Orubebe. However, the Orubebe support group is waxing stronger, putting structures in place to actualizing his aspiration. One of the key figures who spoke to Urhobo Times, in confidence, said that the perceived disagreement between Orubebe and Clark, is a quarrel between a father and son. He maintained that Clark once oppose Dr. Uduaghan, but later supported him as a father, stressing that Elder Orubebe possesses credible credentials to govern the Delta State, come 2015...
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:16:29 +0000
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