Oborevwori vs Nwoko: Have Delta’s political titans drawn the battle line?

The attacks and counter-attacks between Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State and the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, have taken the front burner in the state, writes MATTHEW OCHEI

The current attacks and counter-attacks between the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori and the lawmaker representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, have continued to generate crisis in both the politics and social circle in the state.

Nwoko had, some weeks ago, called for state funding of the Okpai Independent Power Project, asking the governor to fund the project meant to supply 100MW of electricity to local communities.

 The IPP project was designed to generate power for the national grid and the first phase of the IPP project in Okpai, in Ndokwa East, which started in 2002, was inaugurated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, with the capacity to generate 480MW of electricity.
Reacting to Nwoko’s call, Oborevwori, through his Executive Assistant on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Mr Olisa Ifeajika, stressed the separation of powers among different government tiers.

He argued that Nwoko should focus on his legislative role and work with President Bola Tinubu and other National Assembly members to secure benefits for his district. The governor also described the attacks as unsavoury and an attempt to coerce, stampede and blackmail him before the public.

“If Senator Nwoko believes in the importance of the Okpai IPP, he should work through the Federal Government, not press the state government to fund it,” Ifeajika was quoted as stating at the press conference.
He pointed out that the senator’s constituency faces significant infrastructure issues, such as deteriorating roads, which also require attention.

“Senator Nwoko should focus on advocating for federal action to step down the power as agreed, rather than pressuring the governor to use state funds for federal projects,” he stated

The governor’s office called for a collaborative approach between the senator and the state government, suggesting that as the sole PDP senator from Delta State, Nwoko should work constructively with Oborevwori to address both local and federal issues.

Another governor’s aide, Fred Edoreh, asserted that Nwoko’s action is driven not by the interest of Anioma people or Delta North but by personal need to safeguard his ticket, under the suspicion and fear that Okowa might want to take it from him in the 2027 senatorial election.

 “Thus, Ned is only fighting for his political survival and, in doing so, he decided to adopt the strategy of fomenting the Anioma sentiment, ostensibly projecting himself as fighting for their interest and inciting them against both Governor Oborevwori and ex-Governor Okowa in an early build-up to 2027,” Edoreh told The PUNCH.

“He started by claiming to be single-handedly pushing for the creation of Anioma State, which he said he wants excised from the South-South to be joined with the South-East, perhaps calculated to appeal to the Igbo in Delta State.

“Smarting from that, he now came with the issue of the Okpai step-down and tried to draw blood with the accusation of partiality against Delta North in the siting of projects, appointments and the maintenance of a Governor’s Lodge in Warri.
 “The whole essence is to secure himself with the Anioma sentiment, discredit Okowa in the eyes of Deltans, dislodge his leadership influence in Delta North, and threaten Oborevwori with the possibility of denying him Anioma votes in 2027.”

He added, “The idea serves two purposes: to force a negotiation for the retention of the 2027 senatorial ticket and, in the advent of his loss of the ticket, use the sentiment to pull Anioma people to achieve his return through another political party.

“While he is entitled to his political strategy and calculations, it is however, worrisome, to see that he can pursue personal survival by creating divisive, tribal, regional and ethnic sentiments, brazenly destroying the historical and cultural heritage of oneness which all Delta nationalities share, and disregarding the unity, social cohesion and stability of the entire state, and with such half-truth and illogic reasoning.”

 The governor’s aide said all the issues Nwoko raised are determinable, stating that the electricity step-down project is well known and that the Okpai Power Plant is an independent company under the control of the Federal Government through the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and other venture partners.

Edoreh added that the project had been a matter of contention, for which the House of Representatives had to institute a probe on the allegations that there is ambiguity about the contract sum and the lack of accountability and transparency in the execution of the project.

He said, “The questions that arise are: If the minister has promised to allocate funds for its continuation, what is the basis of Nwoko’s haste, to the extent of disrupting the social and ethnic cohesion of the entire state?

 “Seeing all that has been said about the ambiguity of the contract sum and the lack of accountability and transparency in the execution of the project, why is Senator Nwoko pressuring Oborevwori to blindly throw N35bn into it?
 “Why was it so easy for Nwoko to accept the response of the Federal Government and failed to put further pressure on the NNPCL, as a senator of the Federal Republic, but decided to heap the burden of blame only and pointedly on Governor Oborevwori?

“How did he arrive at the project cost of N35bn? By what Bill of Quantity and Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation? Why has he not brought the project owners and the contractors to formally engage the state on the continuation of the project, rather than singularly requesting the fund from the governor in such a middleman manner?

“Given the deregulation of the power sector by which states can now independently generate, transmit and distribute electricity to its citizenry, who says the only way to provide electricity in Delta North must only be for the governor to throw money into the NNPCL/NAOC project whose contract sum is ambiguous?”

The governor’s aide further said, “It is also disheartening, indeed, that Nwoko would raise bones about the Warri/Effurun flyover projects. All Deltans know that the Warri and Sapele axes are major business and commercial hubs and that they have suffered serious infrastructure deficits through successive administrations.
“In fact, at the end of Okowa’s tenure, he accepted that there was not much development in the Warri area, especially on roads, explaining that he wanted the stormwater drainage system to be done there before roads could be reasonably constructed so that they can last, as was done in Asaba.

“The stormwater system in the area, however, started towards the end of the Okowa administration, and he put the task of constructing the roads to the incoming administration. It was on this ground that Oborevwori assured the people on his inauguration that he would give Warri a facelift and proceeded on the promise.”

 A supporter of Nwoko, Chief Rich Enuenwosu, described the attacks on the lawmaker as ignorance on the part of the governor and his aides. In a counter-attack, titled ‘Re: Ned Nwoko should apologise to Governor Oborevwori for his recent comments’, Enuenwosu said Oborevwori, not Nwoko, should apologise based on the unwarranted attacks by the governor’s aides against the lawmaker.
“Edijala is pretending not to know or hear that Senator Nwoko had met severally with the governor and didn’t grant any media interview over the issue. Nwoko was in a meeting with Ndokwa Ne Uku, where he explained the state of things without insulting the governor.

 “Nwoko didn’t ask the governor to accept every proposal without thorough planning – is that what Sheriff told Edijala? The excuse of the governor is simple, ‘no money in the state because he’s paying debts incurred by past administrations.’

“If the governor really made it clear that he would prioritise development in Warri and environs as Edijala implies, does it not then mean the governor is sectional? Why prioritise one district over the others?

“Edijala confirms that the governor is sectional when he said that the commitment of the governor is to develop Warri and his environs as evident in the flyover and stadium projects.

 “Edijala need not school anyone here about who owns the IPP project but should tell us if the state can’t do something there or not. He seems not to know much about the new electricity law and I wonder how he can be this ignorant.

“Our people should be more disturbed when an Executive Assistant to the Governor sees stepping down light as not an essential matter that directly affects the people of Delta State,” Enuenwosu said.

He stated further that Nwoko is collaborative in all his moves, otherwise he would not have come to the governor seeking the development of his people.
“The governor should know that there’s no time as good enough to raise the concern of the people than this time that the administration is fresh enough to correct any abnormality.

“Nwoko is not against the governor completing projects initiated by the previous administration. The governor need not tell Nwoko the significance of his position as a senator, because Nwoko is the first senator who knows his job and effectively does it.

 All that Senator Nwoko said in the meeting is verified truth, a fact that cannot change.

“I know Edijala is writing to please his paymaster but I hope he knows the consequences of his continued sentimental position on this trending issue,” he added.

A political and social analyst, Mr Peter Legacy, said an active observer would find those brands of politicking and scheming as bad politics and a recipe for disharmony and discord.

He stated that the controversy and reactions within the political community are a welcome development because plurality in politics has always helped the community.

Legacy said in “paddy-paddy politics” and governance, a lot is hidden under the table and hugely serves the actors in the arena’s interests.
“That the battle line is drawn is not news and I do not think it is bad politics. Let the people and the electorate get valuable information that ordinarily wouldn’t have surfaced but for the political crossfires.

“Speaking of the battle line, it is evident that the battle line was drawn when, during the local government elections and the PDP congresses, the only PDP senator in the state appeared to have been sidelined.

“An active observer would describe those brands of politicking and scheming as bad politics and a recipe for disharmony and discord.

“Regardless, it will be safe to say that Senator Ned Nwoko didn’t draw the battle line but was responsive to the challenge thrown at him. His reactions have seen him tilt to the alternate equation – the electorate, who were the people he represents in large part.

“I may not entirely speak to the objects of their disagreement, but the said infrastructures are for the good and well-being of Deltans, which should be the fiduciary responsibilities for these elected officials – both the executive and the representative legislators.

“I would like to say that the people are paying close attention because what is being heard distinctly in all of these is: who is paying attention to the needs of the community? Who is attending to the needs of the community? And not who is smarter with politics.

“In the grand analysis, it is about who is playing politics and who is being responsive to the welfare of the community. Yes, the battle line is drawn and it is good for the community,” Legacy said.