Okowa’s Reward Of Loyalty To Uduaghan’s Kinsman

By Patrick Adamagu

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s appointment of Michael Diden is a reward for loyalty and for a “job well-done” to a man who broke ethnic leanings to back his 2015 governorship aspiration.

Diden at a great cost turned against the inclinations of Governor Okowa’s predecessor and his fellow Itsekiri to back Okowa for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship ticket in 2015.

Michael Diden, an Itsekiri popularly known as Ejele and kinsman of Uduaghan’s, was Thursday sworn-in as chairman of the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, DESOPADEC alongside other members of the prestigious board.

 Diden’s emergence is coming seven years after he vowed to flaunt the dissolution order of the Oritsuwa Kpogho led board by the then House of Assembly backed by Uduaghan while he held sway as Governor of the state.

 Citing reasons for the dissolution, the House claimed to have moved for the dissolution due to what it described as “lack of performance and total inefficiency.”

 Drawing the battle line between him and the governor then, Diden was reported to have said that he would not abide by the action of the lawmakers, and insisted that he would continue to report for duty in his office at DESOPADEC headquarters in Warri, until Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan resolved the issue which the governor subsequently did three days after with the reappointment of the board members.

However, the animosity between Diden and his embattled former principal, Uduaghan came to the front burner in the countdown to the PDP Senatorial primary for Delta South senatorial district in the 2019 general elections.

Diden openly came out to contest Uduaghan’s aspiration for the Delta South Senatorial ticket of the PDP.

Uduaghan eventually bowed out of the contest and moved over to the All Progressives Congress, APC where he won the ticket of the party in controversial circumstances.

It is generally believed that Okowa used Diden as a prop to scare Uduaghan out of the PDP Senate primary.

Uduaghan, however, lost to Senator James Manager who emerged the PDP candidate, in the main election.

Diden’s inauguration as chairman of the board is thus believed to be in line with Okowa’s inclination of rewarding loyalty to his core followers, especially one like Diden who spurned ethnic and other sentiments to back his aspiration from the beginning.

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