Chief Vincent Ogheneruemu Oyibode JP, a member of the Governing Board of Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC) in this interview with STEPP OFFI AND OKOROHOHI MICHAEL of Daily Independent speaks on Delta State and the politics of 2023 governorship election. Excerpts:
Can you say that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is strong enough to resist the All progressives Congress (APC) strong determination to take Delta State in 2023?
Yes, you can see what happened in the Isoko South bye election that can also be seen in other areas of the State. If elections are conducted today, that is when you will know that PDP is very strong in Delta State. On a good day, will any reasonable person vote APC again? Considering what Buhari has done to Nigeria, look at the price of fuel, the price of cement. How many people can build houses today? The naira has fallen terribly against the dollar. Even within the APC, they know that this government has failed and cannot survive another election. The APC governors are aware of what is happening in the country and that you have to fight for what is right for the country to move forward. The Southern governors are working together irrespective of political party differences. In all fairness, Nigeria is not moving forward under APC. There is an increase in cybercrime, banditry, and all forms of crimes. Prostitution is in the increase. The Education system is down, and to be frank, no right thinking person can vote APC again. People are now using human beings for rituals in the name of a bad economy. They will not go into all those criminal activities if things are well. People are gnashing their teeth in pain in their homes. Nigerians are suffering and APC is to be blamed for all these.
Are you saying that APC doesn’t stand a chance in Delta state?
As I said before, if an election is conducted in the state today, APC cannot win anywhere. Come to think of it, are they even together? They have different factions. We have Festus Keyamo, who cannot even win any election in Uvwie for Council Chairman. He prides himself as a Minister. He cannot win an election in Uvwie or anywhere in Urhoboland. He and Victor Ochei and Great Ogboru are in a faction. We have Ovie Omo-Agege, The Deputy Senate President who is a PDP-trained politician and that is why he is making some waves. That is why, if anybody is talking about Ovie Omo-Agege, we see him as a PDP man. It is possible to bring him back into the PDP fold. Nothing is impossible in politics. Does he have any political family outside the PDP family? Old friends are better than new ones. The friends Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is making today are not his real friends. His real friends are in the PDP. He belongs to PDP on a good day. I can tell you, Omo-Agege has appointed many PDP members as his aides. Delta is PDP. Those in APC are on holiday.
In your assessment, do you consider the likes of Great Ogboru and the Omo Ageges in the APC?
Great Ogboru is not a politician. He has contested election since 2003 but politics is not just about contesting. When you place Ovie Omo-Agege side by side Ogboru, you will know that the real politician amongst the duo is Ovie Omo-Agege. He knows how to connect with friends outside the divide. I am not discussing APC issue but I maintain that Delta State is PDP. If you ask Ovie Omo- Agege, he will tell you that his base is PDP. The likes of Sobotie are PDP. PDP brought Ovie Omo- Agege up. Within the PDP, we don’t see Ovie Omo-Agege as an enemy. Omo-Agege is connected to Ibori and Okowa. Ogboru that Ovie Omo-Agege fought against in the past cannot be his friend better than us in PDP. PDP will continue to win elections in Delta State.
What are the chances of Delta Central in the 2023 gubernatorial polls especially with the controversy over the zoning arrangement?
By the grace of God, the next governor will come from Delta Central and that will be from the PDP. Our National Leader is Chief James Ibori while Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is leader of the party in Delta State. The youth-friendly governor of Delta State will lead us to work for a young man who would be governor in 2023. He promised Delta Central and he will deliver. In 2015 and 2019, Urhobo worked for Okowa. Those who contested against the zoning arrangement were on their own. Urhobo voted for Okowa massively in 2015 and 2019 and now it is the turn of Delta Central. The intervention that gave some votes to David Edevbie in 2015 was within Delta Central. To be frank, the zoning had not been well adhered to because people all over the state had been contesting irrespective of the zoning. You cannot deprive anybody. But while they contest, the leaders know where power is moving to and when it gets to the moment of decision, the right zone gets it. Politics is all about intrigues. When UPU was talking of Urhobo governor in 2015, some of us took it upon ourselves to work assiduously for Okowa to emerge as Governor. We moved from market to market and Okowa won. In 2015, Okowa won four LGA in Central and Ogboru, four but by 2019, Ogboru got only two LGAs. We have been going round the state to canvas for support for Delta Central in 2023 under the auspices of the Delta Central Young Leaders for 2023. The reaction has been massive. The Ijaws are supportive too. We are synergizing, we are moving on. Delta State is such a complex state that if two senatorial districts come together, the game is over.
What kind of person do you want as governor in 2023?
He should be a man of average age. If you look at the history of all the past governors, none was above 56 years before they became governor. That is exactly what we are canvassing for. That is the age bracket we are yearning for. I call Okowa Daddy, will the next governor be also Daddy? By next year, I will be 47 years old. We want a governor that we can approach as friends, not as Daddy. Okowa is humble and accessible hence we are getting along with him. Okowa has made Delta State the most peaceful state in Nigeria. We want a young man who we can relate with as a friend to be in power.
Chief James Ibori, seems to have a huge role to play in the politics of Delta. How did he get to that level?
In the past 21 years, Ibori was the pioneer Governor in Delta State. Ninety percent of the political gladiators today worked under Ibori. Uduaghan, Okowa, Manager etcetera, all worked under Ibori. Omo-Agege, Sobotie and others worked under Ibori. He made all these people and he remains their political father. Today I am working under Okowa. I am a political son of Okowa. Under Ibori, we were simply youth activists, we are grandchildren of Ibori. My direct political father is Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa. So Ibori cannot lose steam. The peaceful disposition of Okowa has made many of us humble. Some of us who were radical are now trying to be gentle like him. His peaceful disposition has humbled some of us. A few were appointed commissioners, others executive assistants and with this kind of recognition, we are humble and are serving him with all our hearts. Okowa discovered some of us and we are going to be loyal to him in everything we do. In terms of human capital development, Ibori brought so many people up. And on infrastructure, he did his best though he didn’t give Udu anything. Uduaghan was the worst. He claimed that Udu did not vote for him. Even when Okowa came in 2015, he did not quite get votes from Udu but he gave Udu a commissioner so they could prove themselves. He appointed Chief Henry Sakpra as Commissioner, Jite Brown as chairman of Council and so on and so forth. He constructed and commissioned several roads in Udu. He is the first governor to achieve that feat in Udu. That is why Udu voted for him in 2019. Those who wrote Udu off as no go area were surprised at the result from Udu. The man is still working for Udu. We have many appointments for our people and these ones will have to prove themselves. Okowa is a listening governor and we are proud of him.
As DESOPADEC Commissioner, what have you done for your people?
When I assumed office, I ensured that benches that should be provided to schools were sent to them. I ensured some schools which were not WAEC centres yet got registered on my intervention. These include Oghior and Ujevwu secondary schools. I paid enrolment for some pupils in primary schools and WAEC enrolment for indigent students. I have done phase 1 of the drainage system in a street along Orhuwhorun road. I built a classroom block in Okolor-Urhie. I also built a staff room for Oghior Secondary School. The Board has been unlucky too because of the crash in the price of oil and COVID-19. The oil price is coming up now anyway but things have not stabilized. There were many unpaid bills that we inherited and are trying to clear. In all parts of our mandate area, we have projects. We have commissioned projects in different parts of the state particularly in Delta Central. We have developed a DESOPADEC academy, where people are trained and starter packs provided for them to make them stand on their own. We trained women and gave them a minimum of N100,000.00 to make them pick up a business. The way PDP touches life; it is difficult for another party to win election here in Delta.
What is your comment on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)?
PANDEF has taken a position on that. But it is an insult that they are giving us three percent of the profit from oil business whereas we demanded ten percent. The Lower Chamber was magnanimous in giving us five percent but the entire outcome is a slap on us. The issue must be revisited.
What is the relationship between the Governor of the State, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa and Chief James Ibori?
There is no rift between Ibori and Okowa. Okowa has never mentioned any name of a person that has been penciled down. They have not made up their minds. At the right time, they will take position on the matter. The two leaders are not quarreling. They will never quarrel. They are at peace with themselves. People are only trying to drive a wedge between them. They have a right though to support anybody. But as we are here now, they have not done anything like that. Okowa has not spoken to anybody about that. They are only speculating. APC may be promoting these rumours to cause confusion in the system. But they will fail. PDP knows how to do its own thing. During the primaries of our party, a candidate will emerge. So anybody saying Okowa and Ibori are quarreling is lying. Okowa will never insult any leader. He does not say anything. Despite the Federal Government misbehavior, Okowa will not insult Buhari. The man is qualified to be President of Nigeria. I pray he will be given the opportunity to prove himself at the national scene.
What should the PDP do to win again in Delta State?
Everybody cannot get an appointment from the government. Those fortunate to get should come home to meet with the people. They should not stay in Asaba away from the people. Let us cultivate the habit of attending all ward meetings to support the party at all levels. The governor cannot come to Udu to solve a N50,000 problem. A Senior Assistant that is receiving some salaries is not willing to spend money on the people. Okowa should direct all appointees to go home and work for the party. Now that schools have resumed, we have to help our people. The governor is not the problem but the people because of personal interest; we bring a lot of stories into the system to create confusion. Okowa has not spoken about 2023, so let everybody wait. We shall know his mind soon. People should not cause problems for the governor. Let our leaders go to Abuja so we the young ones can manage the state and give them reports. That is the message from us in Delta Central Young Leaders for 2023.
