Tag: Ndokwa

Paul Enebeli is the President-General, Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU), the socio-cultural organisation of the Ndokwa people. In this interview with Okungbowa Aiwerie, he speaks about his desire for an Ndokwa governor and sundry issues.

WHAT are your expectations for Delta North Senatorial District following rumours that the Delta governorship position may have been ceded to an Anioma person?

I am happy that the political situation has heated up as election approaches. I am also worried that a lot of people are beating the gun in the political process. I think electioneering campaigns should not start now until when INEC gives the green light. I will expect that politicians who aspire to rule us will play according to the rules. I am happy that the clamour that we started is bearing fruits. The time has come for a Delta northern to become governor on the basis of equity, fairness and in the spirit of give and take. We must as a people domesticate the issues of equity and fairness and the only way to do it is when it wants to come to Delta North we should try to do the same thing. I was at the last national conference and we voted for rotation and zoning as a way of having peace and tranquility so that everybody will have a stake in the management and leadership of this country. Based on so many reasons: one, if we do not have peace we cannot have development. I think that for justice to reign, even in Delta North, the right place for the governorship of Delta State should be the good people of Ndokwa .I am not saying it because I am the President-General of Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU), but the parameters are so glaring. I want to appeal to the sensibilities of our brothers in Delta North and also to appeal to the good people of Delta State that if we want justice, equity to reign and therefore translate to happiness, peace, and progress of this country, then they should vote an Ndokwa person as governor.

What do you think qualifies an Ndokwa person for the top job in Delta State, especially as the other component groups that make up Anioma also have eminently qualified persons?

Talents abound everywhere, what we do not have is opportunity and the people of Ndokwa land have been short-changed for too long in the geo-political calculations of the State.

Why?

Because they have aspired for so long they are seen as opposition. Because they have continued to say we have a stake in this place, they are seen as opposition. Look at history, we had people like Dr Uwegbue who contested governorship election in defunct Bendel State, also Prof Eric Opia contested governorship in Delta State in 1993, the late Dr Enueme contested against James Ibori in 2003, then came in Obielum who contested against the incumbent Emmanuel Uduaghan, naturally there is that feeling that Ndokwa people are in the opposition, we are not in the opposition we are trying to claim our rights.

Could it be that other Deltans are uncomfortable with an Ndokwa person as governor, because many of the persons you mentioned dared the establishment to contest?

I do not know if that is the case, but this should not be the case. Change is a constant thing even if a government is doing well, people may want change. Secondly, it is because the Ndokwa people have been marginalised. I have never heard of Ndokwa man being a minister, ambassador, or federal permanent secretary. Only recently, we got a chairman of a board, I doubt, if that is a grade ‘A’ board. I have never heard of a Ndokwa being a deputy governor of my state or SSG. The Speakership position we had was only for a few months. Olisa Imegwu was shoved out of the place despite the fact that we are the second largest ethnic group in the state. I see a deliberate attempt to pull down the Ndokwa people and, I say enough is enough. Ndokwa people produced the first renowned African writer, Oluano Equaino, in the 18th century, go and look at the history. So, we are not pushovers. Lander brothers were arrested in Aboh Kingdom, so we are a proud, hardworking peaceful people. Ndokwa is the melting pot of the major ethnic nationalities in Delta State. The Urhobos, Itsekiri ,Ijaws , Aniochas and the Isokos all are in Ndokwa land, as a matter of fact, quite a large junk of Ndokwa East were I hail are Isokos and Ijaws. So, we inter-marry and share cultural affinity with virtually all the major groups in the state. If a people can be so accommodating and they produce the economic strength of Delta North and the governorship ticket has been zoned to Delta North, does it not stand to reason to cede the ticket to Ndokwa land? People want to handover government to someone that can keep the state peaceful, united and progressive. For me, we are determined, focused, and undeterred. If the power brokers do not want to, we will go to God on our knees. I am sure God will deliver the governorship to an Ndokwa person. We have suffered a lot.

But many have faulted zoning or rotation of public office, arguing that zoning breeds mediocrity and as such the contest for governorship should not be zoned to Delta North. Is it justified?

I believe in quality, I believe in excellence, all my life I have lived for it. I was not born in Delta State. I was born in Kaduna State. I grew up in Kaduna. I really do not have any reason to claim Delta State as I do now and it was through hard work that I am where I am today. Unfortunately, we have not taken positions based on the factors that I speak about and so when people say zoning does not create room for excellence, democracy does not often throw up the best candidate. You could be doing so well in governance and the electorates will still vote out that government. If we do not encourage zoning, there is no way President Jonathan will become President. We believe that for there to be peace in a multi-cultural and ethnic country like Nigeria, for a start, let there be zoning.

At the recently concluded National Conference, Anioma State was one of the states proposed, what is your take on it?

Yes, I am happy. I was a delegate at the national confab and some people have queried some decisions taken. Some have said the additional states created are unwieldy and not viable, but I laugh. Unless you are at the confab, you will not understand how the decisions were reached .What you see on television is just a culmination of underground work that had been done at the caucuses. When we got to the National Confab we had two options. We believe that we needed to restructure this country, this country was built on three regions before independence – North West and East regions later on the Midwestern region, but the military regime distorted this equation by donating states without doing good homework. People went to the conference with different agenda i.e. regionalism, zones, states, but when we got there, we found out that because the steps taken to create those states were not right, if we said go back to the era of regionalism, some may not be happy and we looked at the next option which is to try to right the wrongs of the past. What we have done is to right the wrongs of the past by creating more states. We tried to bring justice to the creation of states.

The race for Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s successor in Delta State is taking more dramatic turns, reports Ifi Ntiejum

Asaba, the Delta State capital, is a placid place. Driving down the dual carriage way from the new airport you cannot escape its quiet ambience. The only trace of underlying excitement – a pointer to the fact that events that may redefine the power equation in the state are imminent – are the row of freshly-minted billboards advertising the 2015 ambitions of a string of well-known politicians.

Notable among them are some like former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, chairperson of the board of the National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa who used to be Secretary to the State Government (SSG), among others.

One thing common to these aspirants is that they are all from the Delta North senatorial district. One or two used to be considered frontrunners in the race to take over the gubernatorial seat next year. Today, that is no longer the case. First, Ochei lost his powerful perch as Speaker to 2015 power play. It remains to be seen if the likes of Okowa have also lost whatever momentum they had at one stage.

What is not in dispute is that among the political elite the consensus is that power is shifting to the Delta North, given that the Central and South senatorial zones had had bites of the cherry. On the surface it seems like a straightforward matter. But in reality it is not so simple given that the area in question is home to at least three distinct nationilities – each staking a claim to the seat.

THE CASE FOR NDOKWA

Delta North is made up of nine local government areas broken down as follows: Aniocha North and South; Ika North-East and South; Oshimili North and South; Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West and Ukwuani. Put differently the Aniocha, Ika and Oshimili peoples have two councils each, while Ndokwa has three. In terms of spatial spread the landmass of Ndokwa is almost equal to that of these three other nations put together.

Initially, when discussions and consultations started regarding the direction of the power equation for 2015 and beyond, most actors in the political class were of the view that the Ndokwa nation be given the chance to produce Uduaghan’s successor for several reasons.

By geographical positioning it is the only ethnic nationality that shares boundaries with Delta Central, Delta South and Delta North. It also shares a lot of cultural similarities with the Ijaws, Itsekiris and Urhobos with whom they used to belong to the old Delta Province.

This latter fact is said to have made the Urhobos, Ijaws, Itsekiris and Isoko to be comfortable with the Ndokwa aspiration. The Urhobos have been particularly vocal about this.

It is also significant that Ndokwa is a major contributor to the national economy because of her oil and gas reserves. Nigeria Agip Oil Company has a major gas plant and power facility located in the Kwale/Okpai axis. Ironically, an area from which these rich natural resources flow remains one of the poorest and most underdeveloped in the entire state.

To get a sense of how the Ndokwa have been excluded from exercising power at the highest level in the state, one only needs to look at the picture of those who have governed the state and the outlook becomes very stark.

The highest position an Ndokwa man has ever held is that of senator through Senator Patrick Osakwe. Ndokwa also occupied the position of speaker briefly through Hon. Olise Imegwu. But then Martins Okonta and Sam Obi who later became Acting Governor in the days of the annulment were also speakers. They are both from Ika. The Aniocha/Oshimili axis through Victor Ochei and the incumbent, Peter Onwusanya, have equally occupied the seat of Speaker.

The Aniocha/Oshimili people through Chief Nosike Ikpo have also been in the Senate. The incumbent Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, is Ika.

No Ndokwa man has ever been a Deputy Governor from the days when the region used to be called Mid-West. None has even acted for a day! The same cannot be said for others parts of the zone. John Edozien was Deputy Governor in the old Bendel/Delta period. He is from Aniocha/Oshimili just like another former occupant of that office, Benjamin Elue. Simeon Ebonka who has also held that office is Ika.

Very instructive is the fact that the first Premier of the defunct Mid-West Region was Chief Dennis Osadebey from Aniocha/Oshimili.

This dramatic picture of marginalization, more than anything else, is what is propelling those who are pushing the case for Ndokwa to produce the next governor. It was an argument that seemed to have seduced the political class up till now with many preferring the area as destination of the governorship.

In fact those familiar with the unfolding intrigues in the run-up to next year’s polls – especially in the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) – suggest that the Urhobos are dead set against the ambitions of Aniocha and Oshimili aspirants given that the state chairman of the party, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, looks like a shoo-in for senatorial ticket.

THE OBUH CARD

So what has changed in the race at this time? Aside the so-called ‘frontrunners’, many who have been pushing the Ndokwa cause have been jolted by the unscripted entry into the picture of the former Permanent Secretary, Government House, Anthony Obuh.

He was until early September a civil servant with no known political ambitions. But suddenly he has been traipsing around the state – with his promoters claiming he is the anointed candidate of Governor Uduaghan. So far the incumbent has not come out to openly back anyone – only encouraging all aspirants to sell themselves.

But as one senior politician said to me recently, in politics you only need to read the signals. He pointed to what he called the governor’s “body language” which seemed to suggest that he may have settled on Obuh. Some have even said the man wouldn’t have resigned his position to run for office if he had not been encouraged to do so.

Indeed, many have pointed out that some of the most vocal boosters of the former Permanent Secretary are persons known to be close to the governor. When Itsekiri businessman and politician, Ayiri Emami, convened the first meeting to push Obuh it sent out the signal that Uduaghan was behind the arrangement. Although the governor has denied backing anyone, Emami openly declared that “Uduaghan told me” Obuh was the man. The rest of the state is left to read between the lines.

Again, many with their fingers on the pulse of high wire political intrigues in the state say former Governor James Ibori who still retains significant influence in the wheeling and dealing is opposed to the Obuh project. He was known to be an enthusiastic backer of Dr. Okowa’s aspirations.

Indeed, those in the know say that the former governor has told close associates that instead of backing the unfolding scenario, he would rather support efforts by First Lady, Patience Jonathan, to install Olejeme as the nation’s first elected woman governor.

IS OBUH A DONE DEAL?

Some have suggested that the Obuh thing is just propaganda or a gimmick; a move to neutralize the likes of Okowa who is from Ika like him. Others have said it is the governor’s way of juggling so many balls in the air, in the way that no one can guess where he’s headed.

That may or may not be the case. What is clear, however, is the sudden appearance of Obuh in the race is not only generating suspicion, it has triggered intense resentment. Moreso when all those like Chief Ighoyota Amori, Senior Political Adviser to the Governor and some state cabinet members who have going from place to place with Obuh are the governor’s men.

This list which is already circulating on social media gives a breakdown of the structure supposedly supporting the Obuh project.

PROJECT OBUH 2015 – CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE

Chief (Barr) Fred Majemite- Director General

DELTA SOUTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Federal Constituency Supervisory Coordinators

ISOKO. Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay

WARRI. Dr. Joseph Otumara

BURUTU. Rt. Hon Funkekeme Solomon

PATANI/BOMADI. Rt. Hon. Nicholas Mutu

DELTA CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Federal Constituency Supervisory Coordinators

Ugh. North/Ugh. South/Udu. Dr. Chris oghenechovwe

Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Fed. Const. Hon. Evelyn Oboro

Ethiope Fed. Constituency. Chief (Mrs) Faith Majemite

DELTA NORTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Federal Constituency Supervisory Coordinators

L. G. A. Coordinator(s)

Ika. Fed. Constituency. Dr. Philip Ukuada

Aniocha/Oshimili Fed. Const. Dr. Tony Nwaka

Ndokwa Fed. Constituency. Hon. Ossai N. Ossai

L. G. A. COORDINATORS

SOUTH

1. Bomadi. Chief Mike Seikegba/David Ekerekosu

2. Burutu. Hon. Daniel Yingi/ Tito Zuokumor /Edomegben Godwin

3. Patani. Dr. Chris Ekiyor

4. Isoko North. Hon. Emma Edevor/ Hon. Philip Adheke

5. Isoko South. Hon. Joel Onovwakpor/ Hon. Johnson Erijo

6. Warri South Dr. Joseph Otumara

7. Warri S/West. Hon. Dan Mayuku/Chief Frank Omare/ Fanti Waraya (Ms)

8. Warri North. Chief Francis Omatseye/Mr. Joe Tanga

CENTRAL

1. UGHELLI North Egbo Jaro/Ominimini/Macpherson Igbedi/ Bar. George Ushere

2. UGHELLI South Gospower Muemuifo/Omonemu Edewor/ Taleb Tebite/ Vote Edijala

3. OKPE. Chief Sherrif Oborevwori/Hon Efe Uko/Hon.Engr. AlexEyamike/Blessing Oborevwori.

4. UDU. Chief Egbetama (Beeland)/Ernest Mereh/Andrew Gbise

5. SAPELE Hon. Monday Igbuya/Ayenidejor/Ejaife Odebala

6. UVWIE Hon. Efe Ofobruku/Igbrakpata Solomon

7. ETHIOPE EAST Chief Onoriode Sunday/Onoriode Ishegbe/Ken Okpara

8. ETHIOPE WEST. Mr. Solomon Golley/Igbakpa/Nani Onogba.

NORTH

L. G. A. COORDINATORs

1. ANIOCHA SOUTH: Chief Ejiofor/ Angela Nwaka/ Emma Sorokwu

2. ANIOCHA NORTH : Mr Jaunty Okwudi/ Emeka Oheagbuna/ Chris Kjokwemeni

3. OSHIMILI SOUTH: Rt. Hon. Peter Onwusanya/Hon. Monu Olarewaju/Barr. Edwin Obusom.

4. OSHIMILI NORTH: Dr. Austin Obidi.

5. IKA NORTH EAST: Barr. Nwugo Frank/ Mr. Edwin Ojo

6. IKA SOUTH: Mrs Cordelia Onyia/ Paul Ebedi

7. NDOKWA WEST: Barr. Ergo Okwaji/ Azuka Azaka /Azuka Agbidi

8. NDOKWA EAST: Dr. Olise Imegu/ Mr Ebifa Ijomah/ Austin Ogbolu/Barr. Adigwe/Nkechi Chukwura/Charles Okaroh

9. UKWUANI: Hon. Dr. Alphonsus Ojo/Dr. Leo Esegbue/Barr. Benedicta Osakwunih.

It should be pointed out that the commitment of these individuals to the Obuh project has not been authenticated. It is also possible that those who are circulating it might be doing so for propaganda purposes. Still these names are known to be close to the powers-that-be in the state.

For the PDP, the consequences of what is being perceived as a bid to ram a choice down people’s throats may be difficult to predict as no one knows how far the aggrieved are willing to go.

There are indications, for instance, that key movers of the Anioma Congress have been making moves to see President Goodluck Jonathan to argue that they don’t support Obuh. It is also said that a wealthy and well-known Asaba chief recently called a meeting where he resolved to back anyone else but Obuh.

Other aspirants who seem to be losing steam in the wake of the waves thrown up by the former Permanent Secretary are said to have been meeting to consider their options. They are all said to be ready to fight to the bitter end. Observers don’t rule out defections and outright anti-party activities – developments that could be catastrophic for the PDP.

Much of the antipathy towards Obuh has little or nothing to do with his qualities as a man or his abilities. Rather many are saying if indeed Uduaghan is backing him, he’s acknowledging a critical failing. Critics are asking why the governor couldn’t use the same system that threw him up to produce a successor.

Put bluntly they say any attempt to ram Obuh down their throats amounts to insulting the political class. One politician who requested anonymity asked rhetorically: “After working for 32 years as a politician can you retire to become a Permanent Secretary in the civil service? The reverse is what we’re being asked to accept.”

MANY QUESTIONS

Most political players you speak with in the state readily acknowledge that it would be unrealistic to think that a state governor would not have key say in determining who succeeds him. What they are still struggling with is decoding the reasons why he may have settled on Obuh – if that is truly the case.

Some of have said he may be looking for someone of unquestioned loyalty. Obuh might fit the bill having worked with him as a director when the incumbent was SSG under Ibori. To have been plucked to play the role he did in Government House equally suggests someone who was trusted.

They also say – unflatteringly – that civil servants are quick to say ‘yes sir.’ Is the governor looking for someone who would be pliable? The counter position is that the negative characterization of civil servants notwithstanding, available evidence shows that when roles are reversed, yesterday’s yes man could turn out to be a different person entirely.

A case in point is Abia State whose former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu plucked Chief T. A. Orji from the civil service to become Chief of State. He later anointed him his successor. The man who was once derided as a poodle is now locked in mortal political combat with his erstwhile godfather. Will today’s meek civil servant transform into a pliable governor? The jury is out.

Those who accept this scenario as possible argue that concerning the loyalty question there are too many imponderables. The governor must have assured himself that this is a risk he could take. But in making those moves has he reflected seriously on the potential cost? Again, his defenders say Uduaghan is fairly confident of his political position.

So far attention has focused on the drama in the PDP race because the party presently has a vice-like grip on power in the state. That said, observers are warning that if the emotions and resentment rumbling under the surface are not well managed, it could open the door for an unscripted victory for the opposition – just like what happened when the late Sir. Michael Otedola of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) defeated the late Professor Femi Agbalajobi of the much-fancied Social Democratic Party (SDP) to become Lagos State Governor under former President Ibrahim Babangida’s two-party arrangement. It all happened because of the deep rifts within the party that was perceived as being invincible then.

In politics a month is a lifetime. The aspirant who may seem like the flavor of the month now may have expired come October – opening the door for anyone in the army of aspirants queuing to succeed Uduaghan. In both the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) a long list of capable hands leaves the electorate spoilt for choice in the days ahead.

Aside the likes of Ochei, Okowa, Olejeme and Obuh who have been mentioned earlier, others to watch for are Professor Pat Utomi of the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Chief Fidelis Tilije former Managing Director of Fortune Bank, Chief Godswill Obielum, a retired police chief, Charles Emetulu, Commissioner for Energy, Dr. Festus Okubor, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, former Presidential Adviser, Professor Sylvester Monye, to name a few.