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| Governor Ifeanyi Okowa |
Deep cracks have appeared in the once-formidable walls of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta state. In spite of the spirited efforts of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to accommodate all political tendencies within the state chapter of the PDP, the disaffection generated by his election last April, appear to have cut deep into the fabrics that hold the party together.
It had started with speculations in national media that Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, was in a running battle with the incumbent governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. Uduaghan had strongly denied this, even if unconvincingly.
In the statement issued by his former Chief Press Secretary, Sunny Ogefere, Uduaghan had betrayed his displeasure with alleged attempts to discredit his performance in the past 8 years. The statement said: “For some time, there have been overt attempts to rewrite the history of governance in Delta State, especially the eight-year tenure of His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, CON, immediate past Governor of the state, through outright falsehood and mischief”.
He had also said that a newspaper report that said the Mastercare International School, owned by a foundation being run by the wife of the Ex-Governor, was at the heart of the quarrel, was an attempt to create unnecessary disaffection between him and Okowa.
The decision of close associates of the former governor to dump the PDP for the All Progressives Congress indicated that indeed, all might not be well with the top leadership of the party in Delta state. Top among those who have since decamped are Chief Paulinus Akpeki and erstwhile PDP commissioners, Mr. Ebifa Ijeomah, Olorogun Jaro Egbo and Mr. Misan Kubeyinje.
The Ugo of Okpe kingdom and Uduaghan’s former Chief Of Staff was gladly welcomed into the APC by the party’s state Chairman, Prophet Jones Ode Erue, and another chieftain of the APC, Chief Ayiri Emami. Beyond Akpeki’s declaration that they were following the wind of change blowing across the nation, were speculations that they were testing the waters for Uduaghan and other top leaders of the PDP. The name of ex-governor Uduaghan was mentioned in whispers and Akpeki was not willing to confirm or deny it, yet he was comfortable with eferences made to him being the political ‘John the Baptist’.
Akpeki’s description of the event as “a harbinger of the unstoppable gale of mass defection from PDP to APC which will be witnessed in Delta State very soon”, was apt. Few days later, foremost Ijaw leader and a former federal commissioner, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, also quit the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and claimed he was stepping out to stand as ‘father of all’.
He had chosen the day of his final departure from partisan politics, to take a dig at his kinsman, former President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said lacked the will and power to fight corruption because he kept corrupt people close. He reiterated his support for the anti-corruption effort of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Among the issues said to have irked Uduaghan was the statements by Governor Okowa, on the financial position of the state and the declaration that Uduaghan left him a debt of over N636 billion, including contractual obligations, to contend with. While many of his officials deny that the debt profile is that high, Uduaghan has refused to comment on it.
Okowa had told the state legislature that a total monthly deduction of N4.60 billion will be made from the state’s federal receipts with effect from June through to March 2017, and thereafter N1.098 billion monthly until September 2018, as a result of Uduaghan administration’s huge debt. “The implication of the above scenario is that the funds available to run the state is N5.40 billion monthly in the next two years, which is insufficient to offset our monthly wage bill, let alone fund overhead costs or for government to embark on capital projects.
As the days go by, many are watching the events in Delta to see if Akpeki’s prophesy will come to pass. While efforts are being made at national and state levels to resolve the disagreements, it is understood that Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the nearby Edo state, has taken the responsibility of converting the state to APC by ensuring the cracks in the state leadership of the PDP, widen.
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