With the governorship primary election of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State under way in Asaba, the state capital, there are indications that the unwritten zoning arrangement which had favoured the Delta North Senatorial district to produce the successor to incumbent governor, Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, may have collapsed.
Twenty-four hours to the primary election, emerging signals from the political field indicated that the governor’s anointed aspirant, Tony Obuh, a retired permanent secretary, had been dropped in favor of David Edevbie, former commissioner for finance under James Ibori, immediate past governor of the state.
Edevbie is an Urhobo from the Central Senatorial district. Unimpeachable sources hinted the magazine that the governor’s decision to withdraw his support from Obuh was the outcome of the meeting be held with President Goodluck Jonathan and the national chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu last Friday in Abuja.
At the meeting, the governor was said to have been given the option to either pick his successor or forego his senatorial ambition. The governor opted to pick his successor hence his withdrawal from the senatorial race last Friday at a press conference.
However, to the chagrin of the teeming supporters of Obuh, the news spread like wild fire yesterday that Obuh had been dumped for Edevbie. The governor’s decision, according to inside sources, was as a result of the gang-up against the former permanent secretary by other aspirants especially from the zone.
Aspirants from the zone were said to have met twice at the Grand Hotel, Asaba, yesterday – one at 3 pm and the other at 6 pm to deliberate on how to keep the ticket within the zone.
The meetings were however deadlocked. The aspirants from the zone, majority of whom attended the meeting, were said to have arrived at three options – one, to play along with the governor by all stepping down for Obuh; two, to pick a perceived heavy weight amongst them and form a synergy to fight Uduaghan, Obuh and any candidate from Delta Central; and lastly, in the failure of options one and two to fly, they would fight individually and collectively to fight the governor.
One of the aspirants, Ifeanyi Okowa, the senator presently representing the Northern zone in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, reportedly vowed that it is either him or nobody else. He was said to have threatened to fight with the last drop of his blood if Obuh emerged as the party’s candidate.
A few hours ago, there were speculations that the primary election had been postponed. It could however not be confirmed officially.
The magazine gather that strong horse trading are still ongoing, hence the rumored postponement of the primary election.
There were fears that the primary election may be marred by violence as tension remained high at the Convention Centre, venue of the exercise.
Obuh’s handlers however insisted that he remains in the race, declaring that “no retreat, no surrender.”
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