By Festus Ahon, Egufe Yafugborhi & Brisibe Perez
ASABA—Former Federal Commissioner for Information and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, is unquestionably the most powerful political leader in Delta State.

The only other living politician that would have stopped him in the state is the former governor, Chief James Ibori, but unfortunately, his arrest and incarceration for money laundering abroad, has created the opportunity for Clark, one of his formidable foes, to have a field day.
Political Mecca
Last month, September, Kiagbodo, the home town of Chief Clark in Burutu Local Government Area of the state was turned to a political Mecca as politicians, particularly those seeking elective positions, trooped in large numbers to the elder statesman for consul-tations.
From the former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Tony Obuh, Obarisi Omo Agege, Mrs Esther Uduehi and so on, there was no day since the 2015 general elections climaxed with the release of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, timetable for primaries that one or two governorship aspirants and aspirants for other elective offices, would not visit Chief Clark to seek for his support and blessings.
In fact, even when some people did not know that the man, who spends most of his time nowadays at Abuja, has returned to the nation’s capital city, some governorship aspirants, including Mr. Andrew Warri, trailed him to Abuja to receive his blessings.
For many politicians in the state, the anointing of Chief E.K Clark is the beginning of victory. Even National and State Assembly aspirants outside Chief Clark’s constituency still visit him to seek for his support. This is a pointer to the fact that the Ijaw leader is undeniably very powerful and influential in the politics of the state.
The search for the most powerful living politician in state expectedly provoked divergent views. Niger Delta Voice spoke to cross sections of Deltans.
Former NUPENG General Secretary, Chief Frank Kokori, said, “No one in Delta state fits this description of being most influential, what we have in government are opportunists.”
Uduaghan, Ibori influence
However, some politicians rate the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan higher than Chief Clark in terms of political powers and influences. Of course, there is no gain saying that the governor is also very powerful and influential given the fact that he holds the ace in state PDP. But even at that, the governor himself still rallies round Chief Clark for support and blessings in the day to day running of the state.
Despite Ibori’s absence, some persons see the former governor as more powerful and influential than Clark. They hold strongly that Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan and others exercising political influence in the state, except Chief E. K Clark, are all products of Chief Ibori.
According to them, even in his incarceration, politicians were being air lifted to the United Kingdom, week after week to seek, for the blessings and support of Chief James Onanefe Ibori. So one can better imagine how dominant he would have been if he was in the shores of this country.
But Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Governor, Chief Ighoyota Amori, asserted ,”The governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is the most influential politician in the state because he is the head of the government of the state. Whoever is a politician comes under his leadership.
“There is no way anyone can be more influential than him coupled with the fact that he influences political decisions in the state. The next person is Chief Edwin Clark, who has a national reach in terms of politics.”
For the former member representing Ethiope Consti-tuency in the House of Representatives, Hon Solomon Edoja, “Politics is all about governance and the governor, Dr. Uduaghan, being the number one citizen and head of state is the most influential because he influences all the decisions in the executive and legislature through the State House of Assembly.
“Personally, I think the governor fits this position as the most influential.”

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