Written by Alfred Agolor: Can PDP win Delta 2015 without fielding Urhobo candidate? The politics of Delta State is as big as its slogan: The Big Heart. Political watchers have observed that come 2015, so many factors will come to play in the race to succeed Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan as governor. And I will highlight these factors one after the other in no particular order. The first is the strength of the Urhobo and the political calculation of the opposition APC. Any discerning mind would decipher that it would be tantamount to political suicide should the PDP field a non-Urhobo candidate in the elections come 2015. This is aside the fact that the Urhobo are the “Big Heart of Delta” and they are politically deft, calculative and a people that fight a common enemy. This is with due respect to other tribes in the state. Our brothers from Delta North indeed have a right to aspire to govern the state, as a fact, they have eminently qualified aspirants. But politics has gone beyond agitations. Politics is now a science, and very complicated as such. The science of politics especially in Delta State has put forward so many variables for consideration as to who governs the state come 2015. As an aside, Delta North is the most patronised district in the state in terms of federal appointments. And they know it. So the issue of marginalisation does not arise in the first instance. The APC has come of age and it would be most foolish to ignore the threat they pose in the state. Some school of thought would posit that the PDP is well grounded and so therefore there is no cause for alarm. But interestingly the alarm bell has just gone-off. In the contemporary politics of science and empirical evidences, our brothers from Delta North are a formidable force. Past elections have buttressed this point for those of us conversant with the inner workings of elections vis-à-vis electoral victory. Therefore nothing should be taken for granted. The second is the calibre of candidate to be fielded by the PDP. This is especially important because times have changed and there is a huge need to present a candidate that is well rounded in the game, and also a man of substance intellectually, politically and with a big heart! This is the crux of this piece. The candidate has to be a man that can hold his own any day, anywhere and anytime. And that individual is Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, a lawyer, politician, administrator and business mogul. He studied Law at the University of Benin and was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1986 after completing the professional training programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. During his National Youth Service Corps, he served with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence of the Kwara State Command of the Nigerian Police Force in 1987. Thereafter he began practice as a litigator in over a wide-ranging area of specialization. A native of Orogun in Ughelli North Local Government Area, he began his political career when he returned home from the United States of America and was appointed Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State in 2003, with responsibility for formulation, implementation, coordination of government policy, monitoring and appraisal of Executive Council decisions to ensure compliance with administration set goals, pre-qualification of and monitoring of state project vendors. Two years later as a result of his leadership qualities, he was appointed Commissioner for Special Duties with the responsibility of overseeing the privatization programme of the state government. It is to his credit that under his supervision Delta State was able to develop a robust and dynamic policy in the area of conflict resolution. In 2007, again for his display of professionalism as a manager of men and resources, he was appointed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and as Secretary to the State Government he designed a workable project monitoring template for the office of project monitoring to ensure full execution of government projects. This is the “Big Heart” and clearly what Delta needs come 2015. I stand to be corrected, Ovie Omo-Agege might not be the best in the fray, but his pedigree and bowel of expertise are too rich to be ignored. He represents the new order if the PDP is serious about clinching the gubernatorial elections come 2015 in the state. A word is enough for the wise. ngrguardiannews/features/policy-a-politics/171313-can-pdp-win-delta-2015-without-fielding-urhobo-candidate
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:44:16 +0000
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