EXCLUSIVE: Delta South PDP Leaders’ Meeting To Endorse Oborevwori Ends Abruptly After Okowa’s Call

…. As Governor May have dumped Speaker

By Ovie Okpare

All may not be currently well in the camp of the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and 2023 governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sheriff Oborevwori after a meeting of some Delta South PDP leaders on Friday ended abruptly.

The meeting which was called to officially endorse Oborevwori as the consensus candidate for Delta South in the 2023 governorship election ended 15 minutes after the meeting had commenced at the Asaba residence of the Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) Bashorun Askia Ogieh.

NIGER DELTA TODAY exclusively learnt that the leaders at the meeting would have also endorsed Hon. Micheal Diden alias Ejele as the consensus candidate of the party for the Delta South senatorial seat which has been held by Senator James Manager since 2003.

But midway into the meeting, the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, called some of the leaders at the meeting to immediately cancel it which abruptly brought the gathering to an end.

Governor Okowa, after calling off the meeting, summoned the Delta South PDP leaders at the meeting for an urgent meeting at his Owa-Alero country-home in Ika North East LGA of the state.

Sources at the meeting confided on NIGER DELTA TODAY that Governor Okowa may have concluded plans to dump Oborewvori, who hails from Osubi in Okpe LGA of Delta Central as his preferred candidate.

The sources claimed that Okowa who is also angling for the Vice Presidential ticket of the PDP with a northern candidate for the 2023 presidential election, is under pressure to allow Chief James Ibori’s candidate for the Delta governorship ticket.

One of the sources also confirmed that Governor Okowa has directed Oborevwori to buy a House of Representatives form for Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie Federal Constituency as compensation for his botched governorship ambition.

“The feelers reaching us after calling off the meeting to endorse Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as our consensus candidate for Delta South PDP is that Governor Okowa has agreed to dump his support for speaker’s governorship ambition.

“Today’s meeting was to endorse Oborevwori and Ejele but immediately we started the meeting the governor called some of the leaders to call off the meeting and asked us to send representatives to meet him at his Ika home in Owa-Alero. From what we are told, the governor will compensate him with the House of Representatives ticket.

“We also agreed before our representatives left for the meeting with the governor that they should still beg him to support Oborevwori. The new development is because of Governor Okowa’s Vice Presidential ambition”, one of those who attended the meeting told NIGER DELTA TODAY.

At the time of filing this report, Governor Okowa was still meeting with the Delta South PDP leaders at his home in Owa-Alero.

The meeting was chaired by the Delta South PDP chairman and attended by Hon. Micheal Diden aka Ejele, Chief Mike Loyibo, Bashorun Askia Ogieh, Chief Frank Omare, Sylvester Oromoni, some Isoko lawmakers and host of others.

Oborevwori’s choice has thrown Governor Okowa and a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, against each other.

While Okowa is in support of Oborevwori’s candidature, Ibori is rooting for Olorogun David Edevbie, a former Principal Secretary to late President Musa Yar’Adua and former commissioner for finance during Okowa’s first term.