Delta State: It's PDP's divided house against Omo-Agege's spirited APC, LP

• Published date: 13 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have embarked on aggressive mobilisation ahead of next mouth's presidential election in Delta State. South south Regional Editor Shola O'Neil examines the chances of the parties.

PDP: No longer at ease

Delta has been a bastion of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), and a springboard for its presidential election victories since 1999. In the last three presidential elections (2011, 2015, and 2019), it recorded suffocating victories with 98%, 98% (1,211.406 votes), and 67% (594,068 votes), respectively.

With over half a million new voters in the 2022 CVR exercise, it is one of the states with the highest number of new voters with. With its 3.6m voters, it ranks 6th in the country. But political analysts expect those enormous votes garnered by the PDP in past elections to unravel with the use of BVAS technology.

Ordinarily, the PDP is expected to still win the state, especially with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, as the running mate of Atiku Abubakar. But the PDP's umbrella is in shreds. Its albatross is, ironically the running mate. Okowa's anointed candidate, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori, victory and the perceived underhand antics that wrought it have split the party into countless factions. None of the three serving senators in the state are working for the PDP; in the central, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege is of the APC and it is the governorship, in the North, embattled Peter Nwaoboshi has decamped to the APC, while Senator James Manager, is not campaigning for PDP.

The Delta Unity Group, which backed the candidature of Oborevwori's main opponent, Mr. David Edevwie, who is a protégée and anointed candidate of former Governor James Ibori's, has remained implacable. It comprised former speakers and deputies of the state assembly, federal and state lawmakers, and even members of the governor's kitchen cabinet.

Other aspirants who lost out are also seething and remain implacable several months after; Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro, Senator James Manager, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, and others, who have taken divergent paths toward pursuing their dreams.

'Okowa loaded the dice in the governorship primaries to deliver his candidate, and even went as far as imposing his picks for other positions, but insisted on 'due process' when it was the turn of other leaders to choose the candidate. That is where he got it wrong,' one aggrieved candidate said.

Already, the DUG is led by Daniel...