Delta APC Leaders On Edge Over Board Appointments

Patrick Adamagu

IN the fallout of the emergence of Festus Keyamo as a ministerial nominee from Delta State, leaders of the party from the various tendencies in the party, have began lobbying for appointments as heads and members of various federal boards particularly the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

President Muhammadu Buhari had shocked the party leaders in the state when he nominated Keyamo as a member of the federal executive council to the chagrin of leaders of the party who were expecting the nominee from the state to be from either of their respective camps.

According to checks, positions from the federal government in the state numbering six excluding the ministerial nominee, are being shared among loyalists of Olorogun O’tega Emerhor and the Chief Great Ogboru/Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s tendencies.

Some of these positions are the acting Executive Director, Project of the NDDC, occupied by Sam Adjogbe and the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, occupied by Austin Enajemo-Isire, all loyalists of Emerhor who chairs the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital while Chief Frank Kokori who heads the Michael Imoudu Labour Institute, Stella Okotete of NEXIM Bank are loyalists of Ogboru/ Omo-Agege’s tendency.

Though the crack between the tendencies arising from the factional executives of the party led by Jones Erue and Chief Cyril Ogodo seems to have been cemented, a recent statement by Emerhor on the need for peace shows that the storm is not yet over for the party in the state.

The national executive of the party, in the countdown to the 2019 general election, had recognized the candidates produced by Erue led executive leading to the Ogodo group approaching the court to seek ruling in its favour recognizing it as the authentic executive of the party.

Giving a condition of peace, Emehor and Ogodo had met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo where it was agreed that they should withdraw their case from the court and their tendencies will first be recognized for federal appointments later in the future.

Based on this, Emerhor and his group returned to Delta, and mobilized support for the re-election of President Buhari banking on the promise of the presidency.

However, Emerhor in a statement to his group under the aegis of Mainstream Delta APC, said there is no peace in the horizon for the party.

He had described as “no traction” situation in the peace process mediation by the presidency saying, “Our earlier terms for Party Exco harmonization and sharing of Federal appointments to all groups in Delta APC were once again put on the table as the panacea for bringing lasting peace to APC Delta State.

“Unfortunately, even with the best efforts of those who intervened to seize this moment as a last minute effort to bring peace to reign, again no traction was achieved.”

Based on these, chieftains of the party from the various ethnic groups, have embarked on lobbying for appointments based on the number of votes given to the president during the presidential elections. 

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