Delta 2015: Okowa Names, Otuaro, Ijaw man, as Running Mate

                            
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has named Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, a commissioner at the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) as his running mate in the 2015 governorship election.

The PDP submitted Otuaro’s name and data to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) just on time to beat the Boxing Day deadline.

Otuaro, an Ijaw emerged despite opposition from the Isokos, another major ethnic group in Delta South, who had long been coveting the deputy governorship slot of the party going by the unwritten zoning arrangement of the ruling PDP in the state.

The choice of Otuaro, has put an end to the scheming that has trailed the exercise since Okowa won he primaries on December 8. Okowa was the clear choice of the party at the primaries but his emergence was made possible by some last minute alignments and trade-offs by the political gladiators. Otuaro is an ally of Tompolo, who played a prominent role in the emergence of Okowa.

Okowa was being discreet not to choose a running mate from the wrong camp so as not to jeopardise his chances in the general election as the ethnic groups scheming for the position are threatening to spring a surprise if the choice did not favour them.

The calibre of persons now holding the political ace in the southern district and posing as kingmakers had given some prominent leaders in the state cause for concern and that was one factor that stalled the process until Friday. What seemed to be a simple political arithmetic to determine who emerged as running mate turned messy as two major ethnic nationalities in the Delta South Senatorial District, Ijaw and Isoko ethnic groups, have remained at daggers-drawn over the position.

After his emergence as the PDP’s candidate, the Isoko ethnic nationality had presumed that the deputy governorship position would ordinarily be left for them going by political calculation that Ijaws have taken their turn in the person of Senator James Manager who won the Delta South Senatorial District race.

The Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri had formed an alliance to which they rotate political offices in the Delta South among the ethnic nationalities. Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan became governor in 2007 following the ‘G3’ alliance and quest for power shift.

There were strong indications that the Speakership position in the State House of Assembly would go to the Isoko who stand out as the most marginalized ethnic nationality in the state.

THEWILL can report that the apex Isoko socio-cultural organization, Isoko Development Union, (IDU) led by a retired army general, Gen. Paul Omu (rtd), had unsuccessfully lobbied for the Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovouzorie Macaulay or former Chief Whip, Senator Stella Omu to emerge as Okowa’s deputy.

THEWILL can also report that foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has not been happy with the undue influence Tompolo is exerting in the state coupled with the likely negative effect he is creating for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential election hence his decision to turn his back against an Ijaw deputy.

But many Ijaw leaders including the Niger Delta Grassroot Movement (NDGM) led by Itsekiri-born Comrade Weyinmi Olley had appealed to him to allow Tompolo choose Okowa’s running mate.

It is however unclear how the Isokos and the Itsekiris, two very influential ethnic nationalities that have so far lost out in the power game in the state, would respond to the development in the general election. But two leaders from the area told THEWILL that the groups would go back to the drawing board to explore their options.