The immediate past governor of Delta, Ifeanyi Okowa, has revealed the real reason he disagreed with his former boss, James Ibori, former governor of the state.
Okowa and Ibori have been at loggerheads since the Delta Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election in 2022.
Ibori had supported David Edevbie, a commissioner of finance in his administration, while Okowa preferred and worked for the emergence of the former speaker of the state house of assembly, Sheriff Oborevwori, who was eventually elected during the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
Oborevwori was sworn into office on Monday.
Speaking with newsmen a day before May 29 inauguration of his successor, Okowa’s said Ibori’s insistence on backing Edevbie caused the disagreement between him and Ibori.
According to the former governor, he opted for Oborevwori instead of Ibori’s choice because he was deceived by Edevbie, who had earlier agreed to zoning arrangement of the party to have governorship slot to Delta North in 2015.
Okowa hails from Delta North while Edevbie is from the Central. The duo were commissioners in the Ibori administration.
Okowa told the newsmen that he told Ibori his reservation about Edevbie, but former showed no concern.
“I don’t like to talk about it but obviously there’s no doubt that we didn’t work together,” Okowa said.
“The former governor(Ibori) worked for the APC in the governorship. We went into the primaries not agreeing on the same candidate, we talked about it but he did not want to shift ground on his candidate. That’s the truth and I did not agree with that candidate for basic reasons which I made clear enough to him and also to his own candidate.
“I did not hide it. Till tomorrow, I speak about it in truth not because I thought I was a god that needed to install somebody. David Edevbie is my friend. We were with the former governor in his tenure together as commissioners, but in 2014, when it became obvious that it was the turn of the Delta North — Delta Central and Delta South had had their turns — I heard that David was going to run and he was indicating interest.
“I went from Abuja with three of my friends to visit him in Lagos — and I said ‘David, please, it’s only fair, I know that there are so many people competing but I’m coming to you as a friend. It will not be fair if you run. Governor James Ibori has been there, Governor Uduaghan has been there, it’s obviously the turn of the Delta North; why don’t you allow us to have our space so that we can all be said to be part of the state? Thereafter, we can all work for you to become governor’.
“And at the end, he said ‘I will not run anymore, I will support you’. I thanked him and left back to Abuja.”
“And then suddenly, next thing we heard was that they had endorsed David but this same David had committed himself to me,” he added.
“So we went into the race, a very tough race but God enabled me to win.”
“In the second year, I started hearing that he was holding meetings in Lagos and other places where they were already prepping him to be governor without anybody discussing with me,” Okowa said.
The PDP vice-presidential candidate noted that although the zoning rules meant the governorship seat, in 2023, would go to Delta Central — Edevbie’s zone — he was adamant that the former commissioner would not be a beneficiary.
“In the first instance, he did not want the zoning to Delta North, so if the zoning was going to continue, he’s my friend but he shouldn’t be the one to benefit from the zoning he did not want,” Okowa said.
“I’m careful in what I do so it will be difficult for me to support someone outside Delta Central but my only mindset is that somebody who did not believe in the zoning cannot be the one to benefit from it and I made it clear to the former governor.”
Okowa said when Ibori met with him a few days before the primary election to reach a compromise on a fresh candidate, it was rather too late to change his mind on his candidate
“I told him it would be difficult to withdraw support from my candidate. I don’t do things like that,” Okowa said.
