₦airaland Forum

DELTA ZONING WAR: Anioma monarchs open up on Okowa’s successor




AS it is usual in every political era, politicians across the political divide, particularly in Delta Central and Delta South, have thrown their hats into the ring to contest the 2023 governorship.

The political atmosphere is not different from that of 2007 and 2015, except for 1999 when Chief James Onanefe Ibori was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, without much struggle due to the political awareness and uncertainty at that time.

Following the political stability, the battle for who to succeed Ibori was fierce as political gladiators came out in their numbers to contest the governorship, a situation which led to the formation of political pressure groups like the G3, Urhobo Political Forum and the Equity Group.

But the table turned in favour of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan from Delta South who emerged governor in 2007 in line with the unwritten zoning arrangement put in place by the PDP.

He faced Chief Great Ogboru who was the candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, in the general elections.

The atmosphere was also very tense in 2015 on who to succeed Uduaghan as politicians across the political divide and senatorial districts rose to contest the election with Delta North, arguing that it was their turn since Delta Central and Delta South have governed the state.

The 2015 governorship agitation led to the formation of the Anioma Agenda, which prosecuted the election of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, insisting that it was the turn of Delta North to produce the governor of Delta State.

Again, the votes at the PDP primary went in favour of Okowa in line with the party’s zoning arrangement.

In the main election, Okowa crushed Ogboru who then was the governorship candidate of the Labour Party.

In all of these, the governorship was never argued along ethnic divide but on senatorial basis.

But in the present political dispensation, the Ijaw of Delta South, where the Isoko and the Itsekiri also hail from, are demanding to be the party’s flag bearer as it is their turn to produce the governor.

The people of Delta Central, who would have been out of government for 16 years by May 2023, are firm in their position that it is the turn of the district where the Urhobo, the dominant ethnic group in the state, is located.

They are right in the request for the governorship slot given the fact that the three senatorial districts have had a bite of the governorship position.

16 years

A school of thought argues that Delta Central should be allowed to succeed Okowa, having waited for 16 years and that it would be unfair to deprive them of the position in 2023.

That school of thought maintains that only zoning on a senatorial district basis would bring about peace, harmony, justice, equity and fair play in the politics of Delta irrespective of political parties and affiliation.

The school of thought holds that zoning along the line of ethnicity as canvassed by some persons was not tenable, arguing that the state is made up of Ika, Isoko, Itsekiri, Ukwani, Aniocha/Oshimili, Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic nationalities.

Delta North, which is supposed to be the deciding factor, is still undecided given the remarks of the Chairman of the Delta North Traditional Rulers Forum, Obi (Prof) Chike Edozien.

Edozien, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard after a meeting of the Forum held in his palace, said: “First, we called a meeting to address the issues because ethnic groups are coming out to say they want to contest for governor and they want to support.

“And so we called this meeting to address the issue. Give us time to deliberate and make up our minds.

“When they come, we will call a meeting to address them.

“For now, we are open to aspirants for consultation but we will see how things develop, and then we will know what to do. We supported Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on the grounds of rotation.

“If Isoko come now and insist that it is their turn, what do we tell them? This is open for discussion. With time, we will take a position on zoning when we might have had a consultation with our political class because some of the issues have not been discussed.

“For instance, if we agree on rotation, will it be on senatorial district basis or ethnic basis?

“We will discuss this. If it is a rotation by senatorial districts, the Urhobo people of Delta Central will have a say.

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“If it is on an ethnic basis, then only two who have not had the chance, that is Ijaw and Isoko, have it.

“We have not discussed that yet. And if it is to rotate among senatorial districts, that it started from Central, where will it start again has not to been agreed? So we are open to discussion”.

National Chairman of Delta Central 2023, DC-23, Senator Ighoyota Amori, on his part, said: “Those who want to contest against aspirants of Delta Central have their argument for the governorship seat, likewise us, but we can’t talk of zoning on ethnic lines because the state is made up of various ethnic groups like Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko, Ika, Ndokwa, Oshimili, Aniocha and others; hence, the appeal from us to maintain the zoning arrangement on the basis of senatorial districts.

“The claim by some persons that the governorship seat, since it had gone round the three senatorial districts, should be done as ‘osusu’ that can start from any district, is not right.

“My question is, if not an ethnic agenda, why is it that the Itsekiri and Isoko of Delta South are not in their lobby team, like ours that you have leaders of the eight local government areas in the team?

“It is only zoning on senatorial district order that the PDP can continue with its winning streak in the state.

“So, what we are pushing for is how a sustainable system can be established where when it gets to the turn of your senatorial district, no one from other senatorial districts will contest against the benefitting district.

“So, the argument that Urhobo or other ethnic groups contested during the turn of other senatorial districts will no longer be there”.

According to Amori, DC-23 was a lobby group made up of card-carrying members of the PDP in Delta Central to lobby support for the governorship seat for the district in 2023, adding that DC-23 was not different from the G-3 of Delta South that was formed to drive the process of electing Uduaghan, and the Anioma Agenda that was formed in 2014 for the election of Okowa.

Fight

Former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, who is leading the Ijaw agitation, said: “The facts of this proposition are there; whether or not the governorship rotation is based on senatorial or ethnicity, everything is there for us to see.

“The truth of the matter is that it has never been the case that rotation is based on the senatorial basis in the state, everybody knows that politicians go for elections because we practice democracy and, by the rules of INEC, every Nigerian who is qualified under the Constitution or under the law is free to take part in the primaries.

“That is, you cannot stop a man from taking part in the primaries. So, that has been the case in Delta State where politicians from the various senatorial districts in the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, participate in the gubernatorial primaries in every election year.

“So, when somebody from a particular senatorial district wins the primaries, you now say it is on the basis of the senatorial district, there is nothing like that cast in government.

“That is why you find that each time there are gubernatorial primaries, all the senatorial districts take part and they go there and fight stoutly.

“They fight as if their entire lives depend on the result. When one person is declared winner, you tick out that senatorial district.

“This situation played out in the primaries that produced former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa”.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/02/delta-zoning-war-anioma-monarchs-open-up-on-okowas-successor/?fbclid=IwAR1N5lmS5OV5i3P_wg9JV8UFxAXOVpQMd66Bs-f3LkqZGFna64pp6XSqsTg

Ika, Isoko, Itsekiri, Ukwani, Aniocha/Oshimili, Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic nationalities.

Since Urhobo , Itsekiri and Ika has ruled..

The contest should be between Isoko, Aniocha, oshimili, Ijaw , Ukwuani and ndokwa.


So let Aniocha go followed by oshimili followed by ndokwa followed by ukwani followed by Isoko then Ijaw.... Urhobo will take over again..

Cold war loadings....
Sha better than cannibalism

I laugh in ijaw in this battle there is only 1 winner uhrobos and then anioma Delta south will end up wounding themselves . They better respect this zoning

I pity south south minorities if nigeria breaks up

Let's be fair to ourselves, it is best that they zone this Governorship according to ethnicity. Yes, I support Ijaws on this.

So it should be divided according to the nine ethnicity in the following order Ika-Aniocha-Oshimili-Ukwuani-Ndokwa-Ijaw-Itsekiri-Urhobo-Isoko

Ika have had their turn so the next should be Aniocha followed by oshimili and so on and so forth

JohnSin97:
I pity south south minorities if nigeria breaks up

Care to explain why?

Ijaw should shut up. How many are they in Delta state.

BKayy:
Let's be fair to ourselves, it is best that they zone this Governorship according to ethnicity. Yes, I support Ijaws on this.

So it should be divided according to the nine ethnicity in the following order Ika-Aniocha-Oshimili-Ukwuani-Ndokwa-Ijaw-Itsekiri-Urhobo-Isoko

Ika have had their turn so the next should be Aniocha followed by oshimili and so on and so forth

Pdp will definitely loose if they field any ijaw candidate uhrobos and the itsekiris will just vote for the apc uhrobo candidate. Delta north is one all the lga there understand themselves very well campared to delta central and south senatorial zones.

BKayy:
Care to explain why?

It's going to be another version of Nigeria with multiple ethics fighting for supremacy

BKayy:
Let's be fair to ourselves, it is best that they zone this Governorship according to ethnicity. Yes, I support Ijaws on this.

So it should be divided according to the nine ethnicity in the following order Ika-Aniocha-Oshimili-Ukwuani-Ndokwa-Ijaw-Itsekiri-Urhobo-Isoko

Ika have had their turn so the next should be Aniocha followed by oshimili and so on and so forth

I see what you did there....bad guy...lol

And "we south south are one blood , never to be separated by Igbo people"....to your tent oh.....

Ijaw and Isoko also deserved to be governor.