{"id":6250,"date":"2015-09-25T19:44:35","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T19:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=6250"},"modified":"2015-09-25T19:44:35","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T19:44:35","slug":"is-pdp-taking-delta-state-for-granted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=6250","title":{"rendered":"IS PDP TAKING DELTA STATE FOR GRANTED?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"okowa\"<\/a>Ena Ofugara: From how the primaries of elections were held in Bayelsa, with that of the PDP smooth as a powdered baby’s bottom and that of APC marred by stabbings, thugs and irregularities and the candidacy of a known thief Sylva, we who support PDP are proud of where we have thrown our hats. However, happenings in Delta state give us great great concern.
\nFor many of us, we decided to keep mum on the happenings in our home state for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we support PDP.
\nSecondly, if we were to criticize the former governor, many of our Itsekiri brothers will say it is because Uduaghan is not Urhobo. The same thing is happening where if we say a thing about Okowa, many will say it is because he is Anioma.
\nHowever, we cannot close our eyes to a few things. Yes while we vilify Edo State governor of doing nothing in Edo state and collecting three billion bail-out money, Delta state with so much more allocation and taxable industries, we collected ten billion. But we will not be looking at the finances at this time but instead on some other issues we find very worrisome and central to the success of the party come 2019.
\nKnowing that PDP may no longer have the power of the center to manipulate results from riverine areas like Koko, and knowing that APC and Buhari will not be like Jonathan that made elections free and fair, one is surprised that Delta PDP has been carrying on like it is business as usual and they will control the referees aka INEC. One would have expected that pro-people policy as well as putting best foot forward will be the new mantra of PDP. Instead what are we seeing???
\nWe see an Ejaife Odebala, very popular man with the youths of Sapele brought to his knees as he knelt for Hrh Okefe Igbuya in an obvious unnecessary penis-raising power-play. WHY? To what purpose was that picture leaked? To humiliate Odebala or to say that what?? I will never get to understand what that was about if not phallic reassurances.
\nNow to Henry Baro Baro’s removal. Henry Baro is massively popular. The people of Uvwie, easily the most populous local government in Delta state or at least one of, voted for this engineering graduate of University of Benin and one who resigned from Chevron so as to serve his people. Over a garage that is purely within the jurisdiction of the local government, same Hon Monday Ovwigho Igbuya leading the house performed an illegality and purported to suspend him. In the heart of most Uvwies, of which I am one, we see this as clear impunity and we search desperately for a way to either see Baro back to the position my people voted him into or else….
\nAnd to make matters so very worse, is anybody else reading the exchange between Chief PDO Akpeki and same Igbuya who we all supported around different fora fighting friends who dared call him “Urhobo traitor” and asking that he be supported so he can be speaker? Well, speaker he is now but what he is speaking is getting some of us his followers very worried. How can bros be talking about the “yansh” of those Akpeki employed as his SA’s and PA’s and their marital status, implying that Akpeki is an adulterer and womaniser? was he looking at their CVs or their waists that he would notice they all had “big yansh”? Why would two top PDP stalwarts and a speaker have such a battle and public spat knowing the political environment will be changed in 2019?
\nNow I will not even mention how I was ridiculed and tagged severally over Oga Igbuya’s performance or lack thereof at Channels. I am personally proud of Igbuya for going back to finish school and rising from being a butcher and newspaper seller\/vendor to speakership. It is a success story. But he of all people should know his strengths and weaknesses. Of the 36 speakers, how many have gone on Channels TV that is obviously APC and very critical for an interview? Could not he employ a smart young spokesperson to represent him and the National assembly on such occasions? When people say he is very stingy, will he pay such an individual, be he Michael Dedon or some other smart Okpe youth like Victor Osioh Avo Concepts from his pocket? Is a spokesperson not worth employing? Even if the person must be a rep member, is our House of Assembly so filled with people of questionable intellect that we cannot find people fluent enough in English language to represent us on Channels TV? Why embarrass Delta state, a state known for some of the best brains in the country, from Otega Emerhor through Ngozo Okonjo Iwealla, Pat Utomi etc etc? I have listened to Erhiatake Ibori speak while visiting her aeons ago at her place in Lekki. I know she is fluent and extremely brilliant. Why could not Oga Igbuya second her to performing such functions for the house….Spokesperson I mean?
\nI say again that Koko and the mammy-water votes are lost forever to the PDP. Ayiri Emami is APC. Even now, in my own calculation, I believe if James Ibori comes back, he will be APC as I doubt if he will bow to the new PDP as controlled by Fayose and GEJ while his friends are all in APC. I also know Buhari and co will quickly take the structure of the party from Otega Emerhor and hand it to Ibori as they have done with APC in Bayelsa handing it to Sylva and forgiving his corruption and embezzlements etc. Same could be done for Ibori including amnesty. WHERE THEN WOULD PDP GO FROM THERE? Knowing how close Ayiri and Ibori is and seeing Amori and his workings in APC, to discountenance this ENAlysis of Ibori likely being APC when he returns is asinine.
\nAnd what if Ogboru or Emerhor agree to come together, one going to senate and the other governorship with APC as their party???
\nIt is early yet. Whatever I have written is written out of love for a party that stood for a minority and a party that has shown it is for all Nigerians. It will be the most painful happenstance were we to now move to another party and throw our “small weight” behind that party using the words “we are for candidates not parties.” It will grieve my heart to support APC in any conceivable way. The Igbuyas and Okowas should make it less difficult for many many manyyyyy of us.
\nWhat is required is easy.
\n1. Do not humiliate your shining stars like Ejaife. These are the people that will go on campaign trail in 2019 and getting people to vote PDP. Do not drive them to another party.
\n2. BARO BARO BARO. Everyday Baro is not chairman of Uvwie local government is a travesty of justice, impunity and a loss for PDP. Yes yes yes, Many of us will do what we can to punish Delta PDP for as long as Baro is denied his electoral and constitutional right. Many of us have kept silent enough.
\n3. Oga Igbuya should please get spokespersons. His interviews should be recorded and with friendly moderators only.
\n4. Something must be done about Sapele General Hospital and all of these public places. It makes no sense that with our huge allocations and now bail-out funds, (yes we know we have 4 times Edo state salary burden) such public places are in such deplorable conditions.
\n5. Campaign for 2019 begins now and it begins with ruling well. We see Wike of Rivers doing excellently well. We see Emmanuel Udom performing wonders. There is no excuse for Okowa not to perform. We pray for him to.
\nGod bless Delta state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ena Ofugara: From how the primaries of elections were held in Bayelsa, with that of the PDP smooth as a powdered baby’s bottom and that of APC marred by stabbings, thugs and irregularities and the candidacy of a known thief Sylva, we who support PDP are proud of where we have thrown our hats. However, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[844,842,841,406,335,843,141],"class_list":["post-6250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-chief-pdo-akpeki","tag-ejaife-odebala","tag-ena-ofugara","tag-gov-ifeanyi-okowa","tag-henry-baro","tag-monday-ovwigho","tag-urhobo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/okowa.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-1CO","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6255,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6250\/revisions\/6255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}