Delta by-election: PDP, DPP, APC in battle royale Ebenezer Adurokiya writes on the dilemma confronting the Urhobo in the choice of the party to vote for in view of the high quality candidates representing each of the major parties in the Delta Central Senatorial seat by-election of October 12. The candidates are weighty, so are the parties. It was not so in 2011 when late Senator Pius Ewherido, rode triumphantly to the seat as he was weightier than his contenders. The Urhobo knew who they wanted and they got what they wanted. But the game has changed with the emergence of Chief Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, Chief Dede Dafinone and Olorogun O’tega Emerhor as candidates on the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) after their primaries last week, respectively. Meawhile, pundits are of the opinion that the battle ahead will be a litmus test for the Urhobo on whether the ethnic group desires a centripetal recognition. The Urhobo have been on the neck of President Goodluck Jonathan over alleged marginalisation of the ethnic nationality on federal appointments. Late Ewherido got the senatorial seat on the platform of DPP, led by Great Ovie Ogboru. Ewherido was said to be at the verge of defecting to APC in order to command a wider acceptance for the Urhobo before his sudden demise. His foot soldiers brought this ambition to fruition immediately after his tragic death as the divided house has both been harvested by APC and PDP. So as the by-election approaches and the candidates have taken to the grassroots to mobilize the people, what will count against them or work for them? Where will the pendulum swing at the end of the day and what criteria will make these happen given the quality and acceptability of the trio? Aguariavwodo He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003. Thereafter, he became the maiden Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In 2006, he threw a shot at the governorship seat under the PDP primaries and lost. This effrontery, believed not to have some down well with the then governor, Chief James Ibori, was suggested to have cost him the NDDC plum job. This also led to his near irrelevance in the political landscape of the state before he began the present political sojourn. Many believed that his gut to try the waters of the governorship slot was a political miscalculation on his part since, as the NDDC boss, he was in charge of no fewer than nine states under the board. Aware of the fact that the Urhobo’s desire to return as governor in 2015 after the end of the tenure of Uduaghan, and the rotational arithmetic being championed by the Anioma region to take the shot as governor in 2015, Aguariavwodo has to settle for the available, the bird at hand said to be worth two in the bush. Among other negatives that may also work against the former lawmaker could be the threat posed by other aspirants during the race to grabbing the ticket. The weights the likes of Chief OvieOmo-Agege, Chief Ighoyota Amori, among others carry, which had been shoved aside and wounded by the selection of Aguariavwodo, may likely work against his success. In other words, there is the likelihood that the supporters of these aggrieved aspirants may align with opponents of Aguariavwodo to bring PDP to another defeat. Besides, although serving a prison at present, the determination of Ibori in ensuring tears roll down the cheeks of Aguariavwodo for jumping the gun to aspire to be governor in 2006 may likely count against the PDP candidate if the former decides to go for the kill again through his foot soldiers. Over and above, monetary influence cannot be ruled out of the voting pattern also, as the highest bidder would like go home with the victory. PDP is not a minor when money is involved, especially as far as elections are concerned. Ede Dafinone The delectable candidate of DPP is not a push-over either. The fair-complexioned ‘Urhobo Obama’ stands a good chance to clinch the ticket to the Senate. A chattered accountant is a son of Senator David Omueya Dafinone, who booked a place in the Guinness Book of Records. He has consulted for the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The present vice chairman of the Urhobo Progress Union management board has no fewer than 30 years experience in Accounting, Auditing, Taxation and Consulting. He lost the primaries to Ewherido in 2011. Dafinone may spring some surprise on the day of election in several ways. He can match strength for strength other parties if money factor is applied. Besides, the factor of the leader of the party, Great Ogboru cannot be underrated. No one knew why the garrison ‘commander’ was conspicuously absent at the DPP primaries, where Dafinone emerged with a very wide margin. Truth remains that Ogboru has soft spot for PDP than the APC, reason he declined hobnobbing with the idea of the merger talks at the outset as against the disposition Ewerido had for the idea. Defecting to the PDP after winning the seat, which most Urhobo are freely disposed to in order to play the centripetal politics with its attendant benefits, may not be difficult to Dafinone, as DPP loyalists actually defected from PDP in the wake of disagreements. With his ongoing overtures to other defeated contenders in the persons of Richard Odibo and Napoleon Gbinije, if well executed, Dafinone may come tops at the primaries all other things being equal. This may be the reason some prominent Urhobo in Abuja and northern part of the country described Dafinone as a beacon of hope and great source of inspiration. The Aso Rock factor may, however, be a hard nut to crack, but not impossible to achieve. APC candidate He is a quintessential business mogul. The APC, under which platform Emerhor is contesting the seat, many believe, is still battling to put structures in place at ward, local government and state level. His opponent before the commencement of primaries last week, Mr Festus Keyamo, stormed out of the venue, alleging compromise of the ward registration, as fraud and therefore could not produce a fair and transparent primaries. This, however, did not deter Emerhor from participating in the exercise especially as, according to the chairman of the electoral committee for the APC primary, Senator Osita Izunaso, the election would go on, Keyamo’s withdrawal notwithstanding. The APC is the major thorn in the flesh of PDP. The party boasts of members who claim to be progressives, seeking change. Keyamo surely has his following and may engage them to do the spoiler job, except the young man is appeased by the party’s bigwigs who were instrumental to Emerhor’s ‘concocted’ victory, as Keyamo has described it. The interest of the Urhobo would however stand uppermost in the hearts of both the candidates and the electorate. It is believed that in the last six years, the Urhobo nation had not faired or been treated well at the federal and state levels. They are unfairly tagged the nation of opposition, although they voted massively for President Jonathan in 2011 and a sizeable number of votes from the people went to the incumbent governor of the state. Feelers also have it that the Labour Party (LP), which is not seen as a top contender in the titanic race, has adopted Chief Andi Osawata, who defected from PDP in the wake of the rumoured adoption of Aguariavwodo as PDP candidate. His attempt to join the race via APC met some brick walls after which he finally found shelter under LP. He was the secretary of DESOPADEC during the reign of Ibori and was said to have taken many loafers off the street, empowering them with jobs to reintegrate them into the society. Described as a grassroots, the lawyer might pull some strings of surprises at the by-election if he is considered in-consequential. However, the manners with which he manouvered from PDP to APC and eventually LP in order to seek the fulfilment of his ambition may paint him as desperate in the eyes of the Urhobo electorate, whose political consciousness has upped greatly in recent times. In all, suffice to opine that the man who will coast home with victory on October 12 would largely do so on the basis of who can protect Urhobos pride, antecedents of the candidate, ability to maximise the position to actualise the 2015 Urhobo agenda, protection of Urhobo interest at the federal level which may include a ministerial slot. Who, among the four candidates, does the cap fit? A fortnight from now will tell.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 12:09:32 +0000
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