Sir: The move by Olorogun David Edevbie, the defeated Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant in that party’s primaries to join the lawsuit instituted against the candidacy of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Francis Oborevwori by another PDP member, Chief Aghwarianovwe Ikie, brings to fore the challenges of incompetence and capacity of political leadership in Delta State under the PDP. Oborevwori is the current Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA).
In recent time, Edevbie lost at the Supreme Court when he unsuccessfully challenged the qualification of Oborevwori to be the candidate of the PDP in the 2023 gubernatorial elections under S. 29(5)(6) of the Electoral Act. Ikie’s lawsuit before the Federal High Court, Asaba and Edevbie’s legal maneuvres interrogates Oborevwori’s competence to run for the office of governor of Delta State. In seeking to join Ikie’s lawsuit, Edevbie appears to be making a fresh legal argument that, as a participant like Ikie in the PDP gubernatorial primaries, he has a right to be joined and be heard by the court in the latter’s consideration on whether Oborevwori is qualified and competent to run for office.
Though there are gubernatorial candidates from other political parties in Delta State for the 2023 elections, the competency issues about the candidacy of Oborevwori should be of concern to all Deltans. Oborevwori is the anointed and “handpicked” candidate of the PDP and the outgoing governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
Delta State is blessed with enormous human resources with unique capacities to bring about the desired economic transformation of the state. There is a correlation between the economic development of a state and the quality of its political leadership. It is arguable that Oborevwori represents the PDP establishment.
Under Okowa, the PDP has misgoverned Delta State for the last seven years and counting with little or no concrete economic development achievements commensurate with the over N4.7 trillion federal allocation and billions of IGR that have accrued to the state. Ikie and Edevbie’s legal challenges to Oborevwori candidacy, reflects the poor political judgment of Okowa in handpicking Oborevwori, contrary to basic ‘political common sense.’ Oborevwori’s manifesto based on the ill-advised acronym – MORE, is a commitment to double down on the failed economic policies of the PDP and the Okowa administration in Delta State.
For a state that is lagging under every socio-economic index in the last seven years when compared to other states in the Niger Delta with similar or less federal allocation and IGR revenue, the 2023 governorship election is the best chance for Deltans to elect a governor with the requisite record of public service, education, workable economic ideas, and the competence to deliver the state and bring about the desired economic transformation.
Dr. Felix O. Okpe is a lawyer and public policy analyst.
