Ogboru lights up Abraka
NewsNov 13, 2010

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South
The kinsmen of Chief Great Ogboru in Abraka are looking beyond the rerun election ordered by the Appeal Court after it sacked Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State.
ABRAKA, the country home of Chief Great Ogboru in Delta State, has been euphoric since Tuesday, November 9, when the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City ordered a re-run of the 2007 governorship election.
All through Tuesday night and up till last Wednesday morning, his supporters reportedly went on a drinking spree to celebrate the nullification of the election that saw sacked governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, ruling the state for three years.
To them, the annulment of the election means that Ogboru is the next governor of the state and they were only waiting for time for it to manifest.
As at November 10 when Sunday Vanguard visited the community, Ogboru was yet to touch base after the court verdict but his residence was being repainted to give it a fresh look.
Other parts of the town was quiet but near the Delta State University in the town, joyous women of the Democratic Peoples’ Party, DPP, were seen celebrating Ogboru’s victory on the streets.
Their leaders, Mrs. Rose Onikpeteti, Mrs. Rose Fakpide and Mrs. Mary Efenure, said they were excited because the court had annulled the election of Uduaghan and ordered a fresh election, which they believe Ogboru would win.
“We did not vote in 2007 and we believe that we will vote this time around and that our vote will count for Ogboru”, Mrs. Onikpeteti said.
Ogboru’s political father, Prince Sylvester Kowho, based in Warri, told Sunday Vanguard, “Politics is a game of number, there was no election in the state in 2007, this time around, we are sure there is going to be election and Ogboru is the next governor of Delta State”.
At Ogboru’s residence , it was observed that extra-security measures had been taken to fortify the house different from the situation in 2007. The motor-cyclist, who acted as our guide to the residence, however, disclosed that the DPP gubernatorial candidate stayed more in the Beach, a location in Abraka, when he comes to town.
The carnival on that day was, however, at the residence of Ogboru’s elder brother, Chief Julius Ogboru, the Ekugbere of Abraka Kingdom. He is the ‘Field Marshal’ of the Ogboru Campaign Organization and from the Eku, Ika, Sapele, Uvwie, Ndokwa and other parts of the state, DPP chieftains had congregated in Abraka as early as 9 a.m.
The senior Ogboru said he had not slept since Tuesday when the verdict was announced by the court because it had been celebration galore. He described the court judgment as excellent, saying, “This is the first time we are seeing our judiciary strong and upright in matters concerning Delta State”.
He boasted that nobody would vote for Uduaghan in the fresh election, saying his brother was the next governor of the state. A leader of the party from Eku, Chief Wilson Ishegbe, concurred, saying Eku people were happy with the news of Ogboru’s victory in the court.
“When I heard the news, I asked for a bottle of St. Remmy Martins to celebrate with my people. It is God’s work, it is not man’s work. I came from Eku to visit our leader, Chief Julius Ogboru, to rejoice with him. People have been calling me from Warri and other parts of the state, they are happy”, he stated.
Chairman of the DPP in the Ukwuani Local Government Area, Chief Augustine Onah, said, “The people of Obiaruku have been in a jubilation mood since Tuesday night. PDP has not done anything to warrant a re-election. In fact, there was no election in 2007 and we all know that Ogboru is going to win the fresh election”.
Larry Dafiode, who contested the 2007 House of Representatives election for Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency on DPP’s platform, said he was happy with the nullification because there was no election in 2007 in the state, adding, “Some people just took the result sheets and wrote the result “. According to him, the news of Ogboru’s court victory brought spontaneous joy to the people of his constituency.
Another DPP chieftain, Chief Emma Okpu from Aragba-Orogun in the Ughelli North Local Government Area, said, “I am here in Abraka to celebrate the overwhelming victory of a great man, Chief Great Ogboru, who was subdued for many years and now liberated.
“There is no going up and down; he is the next governor of Delta State, from 2015 to the Presidency. He has been victimised in the past by liars and it is now that Nigeria has realized that he has been cheated. The PDP is dead and never to wake anymore in the state”. Okpu stated that the people of Ughelli North were still in celebration when he left for Abraka. DPP chairman in Ika South, Mr. I.G. Orubor, urged Deltans to vote Ogboru in the fresh election, saying he was denied victory in 2007 and commended Ogboru for his single-mindedness in fighting to reclaim his mandate through the judiciary.
Chairman of the DPP Elders’ Forum in Ethiope East, Chief Joseph Ukueku, said Ogboru’s victory in the fresh poll has been committed to God, stressing that the zoning arrangement that was introduced by some people attributed to be Urhobo in 2007 would not stop Ogboru in the re-run poll.
DPP youth leader in Sapele, Evangelist Nixon Ufuoma, agreed that the PDP only manipulated figures in the past to give itself victory. He said God had liberated Deltans with the Ogboru court victory and his thinking was that the judiciary had been monetised until last Tuesday’s verdict.
Sunday Vanguard learned that Clark invited Ogboru for a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday and the Ijaw national leader, who has been based in Abuja, since last year, may soon relocate to Delta State to lead the Ogboru campaign.