THERE is a great probability that the upshots of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections may affect the voting pattern in the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in some states of the South-South, on Saturday but the certainty is subject to changeable political dynamics.
Fight between Oborevwori, Omo-Agege, despite Obidients’ audacity in Delta.
In Delta State, for instance, where the leading governorship candidates are Sheriff Oborevwori of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the exploit of the Labour Party, LP, in the polls in question, has made the underrated “Obidients” an important factor in the March 11 polls.
Mind you, Obidients are not members of the LP alone. They are groups of citizens, especially youths with permanent voter’s cards, PVCs, who believe that it is time to flush away the old brigade of politicians ruling the country and states, all these years, and install fresh hands. They are more in number than registered political party members, who make the loudest noise during elections.
Sherrif Oborevwori, speaker of Delta State House of Assembly and the standard-bearer of the ruling PDP, who is the candidate to beat on March 11, has anxiously lobbied the “Obidients” in the state for support, in the past few days.
APC’s Ovie Omo-Agege, who is the Deputy Senate President; Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party, SDP; Chief Great Ogboru of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA; Comrade Sunny Ofehe, of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, are also in pursuit of the “Obidients”, even though the LP has a governorship candidate in the person of Ken Pela.
The governorship candidates are not the only ones tracking the “Obidients.” The House of Assembly candidates are trailing the LP revolutionists to churches, markets, and every public places they know they are gathered in their areas, seeing what they did on February 25. The fear of the Obidients is now the commencement of political wisdom in Delta State.
Following reports that the LP was negotiating with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa ahead of Saturday’s polls, the state chairman, Tony Ezeagwu, during the week, disowned the claim, saying the party has its candidate, Ken Pela.”
LP not discussing with Okowa, others
“I want the general public to know that the LP in Delta State has no business with Governor Okowa, the PDP, or any other party in the state. As a party, we have not discussed anything of such with Okowa, we have not even held any meeting with him, and we do not intend to do so.”
Curiously, while Ezeagwu said LP had no business with PDP or any other party, a coalition of support groups for Peter Obi in the state, led by Mr. Ochuko Edafe, Monday, in Asaba, pitched tent with Omo-Agege, saying the Obidients in the state would vote him because he is the most credible candidate for governor.
Indeed, the LP shook the table in Delta on February 25 with PDP losing 18 out of the 25 local government areas in the state to the LP.
It lost two House of Representatives seats to the LP. Mr. Ngozi Okolie, who flew the party’s flag in Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency, defeated the Minority Leader of the House and candidate of the PDP, Ndudu Elumelu.
Former member of the House of Representatives, Evelyn Oboro, who flew the flag of the PDP in the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie federal constituency bowed to LP’s Ben Etenabene.
APC, which is the main opposition party in the state, won the Delta South and Delta Central senatorial seats, threatening the chances of PDP, which only won the Delta North senatorial seat in the March 11 polls. However, PDP won six House of Representative seats in the state, APC- one, and LP – two.
Many think the upsets may affect the Governorship and House of Assembly elections with the LP candidate, Ken Pela, becoming a major beneficiary. Nevertheless, it does not appear so on the ground.
Saturday’s governorship battle is likely to be a different ball game between Oborevwori, who has the support of youths across the state because of his sociable nature, and Omo-Agege, propelled more by politicians, who lost out in the power game with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the main promoter of Oborevwori, and some citizens that feel disgruntled with PDP in the state.
Gbagi’s push
Despite contesting on the platform of SDP, Gbagi, a lawyer and former Minister of State, Education, is on a firm pedestal as one of the frontrunners. The combined factors of a respectable background and a broad-based vision of governance have had a tremendous impact on his penetration of demographic groups with the resultant swell of a support base for him across the 25 local government areas of Delta State.
It is to his credit that he had stayed the course since 2019 when he unveiled interest in occupying the plum position. The serial endorsements of the SDP candidate by Deltans is an approbation of Gbagi’s six-point agenda primed to usher in all-around development and progress, industrialisation, enhanced security, quality education, job creation and women and youth empowerment.
To a large extent, Gbagi’s presence in the race has promoted greater scrutiny of the moral character and antecedents of those seeking the governorship office. His disposition towards probity, transparency and frugality in resource management added to his unblemished record in public service provides a counterpoise to the alleged corrupt background and unexplained wealth allegedly associated with some of the top contestants. Gbagi, who sees himself as the biggest investor in Delta and said the era of the experiment was gone, Delta must be run by a wealth creator and someone with the experience and capacity to turn the fortunes of the state around.
