From Aruga Joe Omokaro – Asaba

The political juggernaut of Delta State politics, Chief James Onanefe Ibori and Senator James Manager have finally dumped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Discrete investigations by The SUPREME last week, reveal that, lbori who was two times governor of Delta State under PDP has decided to work for victory of the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, against the candidate of PDP, Sheriff Oborevwori for the governorship election slated for Saturday March 11, 2023.

Ibori’s action is said to have sent jitters to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who is the Vice President candidate of the PDP. The party lost woefully in Delta State to Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi in the February 25th presidential election.
Delta State had been PDP stronghold, but Okowa”s alleged misrule and his alleged betrayal of the South to clinch the position of Vice Presidential candidate to a Northern candidate, Atiku Abubakar, are said to be his undoing.

Ibori’s decision to work for the opposition party’s victory, was said to have been stemmed from disagreement between him and the Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okiwa, over the choice of Oborevwori.

Our investigations further reveal that, while Ibori presented David Edevbie a former Commissioner of Finance from Ughelli (an Urhobo) as his anointed candidate, Gov Okowa toyed a different lane against Ibori’s choice, and presented Sheriff Oborevwori as his preferred candidate.

Chief Ibori is known and reverred as political god-father of most top politicians in Delta State, including Okowa

The SUPREME reliably learnt that, while Ibori was in prison in the United Kingdom (UK) he was consulted on who the flag bearer of the party should be, after the immediate past governor, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduagha, had completed two terms. And lbori was said to have endorsed and solidly supported Ifeanyi Okowa.
The political god-father was said to have worked assiduously from prison for Okowa”s victory to be the governorship candidate of the PDP and subsequently energed the state governor

Our discrete investigations further reveal that, their relationship got soared in 2021, when Okowa insisted that he will not succumb to Ibori’s choice.

A source told us that Okowa had threatened to deplete Ibori’s political prowess in the state and plant himself as the new political god-father of Delta State

However, lbori was said to have mocked Okowa, assuring his political loyalists not to loose sleep over Okowa’s alleged threat.

Okowa consequently exhibited his might during the party’s governorship primaries, where he was alleged to have spent the state government funds to influence delegates with large sums of foreign currency for Oborevwore to emerge PDP governorship flag bearer.

David Edevbie and Senator James Manager clinched second and third positions in the primary..

Oborevwori is also an Urhobo, born on June 19, 1963 in Osubi town, Okpe local government.
Until he emerged PDP’s governorship candidate, he was Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.

His leadership as Speaker was engulfed in controversies of approving loans sent to the House by Okowa, in an ultra vires manner, without due processes.

The SUPREME reliably learnt that there have been cold war between Okowa and lbori, his supposed god-father since Oborevwori emerged PDP flag bearer

In order to have soft landing for Oborevwori on Saturday March 11, 2023 governorship poll, Okowa was said to have sent emissaries to lbori to make u-turn and support Sherrliff, but that Ibori shunned Okowa’s olive tree.

We also learnt that, Okowa has decided to woo political bigwigs both in the Labour Party and in the APC to PDP with olive tree of juicy political appointments. .

A reliable source hinted The SUPREME that, Okowa had made secrete overtures to Chief Great Ogboru to support Oborevwori in order to split Senator Omo-Agege”s votes, promising him huge sums of money and juicy political appointments.
We are still investigating if Ogboru has caved into Okowa’s overtures.

Discrete investigations further reveal that, Ibori has also reached out to all royal fathers and leaders in Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri, through his strong political loyalists, to convince their subjects to vote for Omo-Agege.
Similarly, he was said to have instructed all his political pathfinders to openly decamp from PDP to APC

Subsequently, Senator James Manager, from Ijaw whose mother is from lsoko South local government has formerly decamped from PDP. In the same vein, former Secretary to the state government (SSG) Ovuozorie Macaulay from Isoko North, last weekend also resigned from the PDP.
We reliably gathered that, the two political heavyweights and their teeming followers, would be officially received into APC on Wednesday by Senator Omo-Agege.
And to further deplete PDP stronghold, Omo-Agege last weekend appointed a media aide to DESOPADEC Sunday Areh as his spokesman

One of the Special Aides to Ibori told The SUPREME on phone on Sunday that, “it is no longer new that Chief Ibori is working for APC candidate, Omo-Agege. Many people in Delta State are aware. So there is nothing new l will confirm to you.”

Apart from Ibori”s feud with Okowa, many Deltans who spoke to The SUPREME in strict anonymity at various times, described Okowa’s government as “a failure in infrastructures social amenities
and in Development.

One of them, who is into oil and gas business, frowns at Okowa’s neglect of roads in the state. “No good roads in the state. See Warri that used to be a beehive of commercial activities, nothing is happening How can you thrive in business when there are no good roads, no constant electricity supply. In fact, he (Okowa) has made some of us to hate PDP,” he lamented.

Another person – a businesswoman based in Warri, said, she does not want to hear the name Okowa. She pleaded anonimty and said, “he has done no remarkable development in the state. The only bridge he is building in Asaba he cannot complete it .
All we hear is, he is borrowing billions of Naira, and nothing to show for it,” she lamented

Already, youths in Ndokwa are threatening to vote against PDP over an abandoned road project Okowa is yet to complete

On the issue of borrowing, we reliably learnt that some concerned citizens of Delta State have petitioned the Presidency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) to probe Okowa”s alleged financial recklessness

The SUPREME made efforts to confirm from the anti-graft agency, if investigations of the alleged frivolous loan of N175 billion allegedly obtained by Okowa against banking principles had commenced, and if Okowa”s alleged misappropriation of Delta State government funds are under investigation, but spokesman of EFCC, Wilson Uwujare could not give us concrete answer

However, we reliably gathered that, Okowa has mapped out strategies to use security agencies, especially the police to ensure that Oborevwori of the PDP emerges winner in the Saturday governorship election.

We reliably learnt that, the Delta State Commissioner of Police CP Ali Mohammed Ari has been deployed back to Delta State from Bayelsa State, where he was deployed to for Presidential election duty.
He is expected to resume again in Asaba today 06-03-23, but he was said to have travelled to Abuja where he is attending a meeting of all CPs, AIGs and DIGs summoned by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba.

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