Delta 2023: Zoning Talks Collapse As Okowa, Ibori Meet

A proposal on zoning the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State was said to have collapsed on Friday night at a meeting of top leaders of the party including Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his predecessors, Chief James Ibori and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.

The proposal was tabled at a meeting held ahead of the Saturday Mega Rally of the party, Saturday Punch reported.

The meeting held at the Government House on Friday night in Asaba was attended by Okowa, former governors James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan; Senator James Manager; Minority leader House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu; State PDP Chairman, Kingsley Esiso; among other caucus members were in attendance.

A source who confided in The Punch said no zoning agreement was reached on the senatorial district to produce the PDP governorship flag bearer for the 2023 election.

“The meeting was adjourned and no decision was reached until the next caucus meeting. The issue of who will succeed Okowa come 2023 never came up and was never in the agenda of the meeting,” the source said.

It was also gathered that the party’s Chairman, Kingsley Esiso, had moved the motion for the zoning of the governorship to Delta Central and was supported by Senators Stella Omu and Elumelu.

But Manager and the former State Chairman of PDP, Edwin Uzor, were said to have opposed zoning it to Delta Central.

Meanwhile, former governor James Ibori was said to have vowed to push his choice of candidate, David Edevbie, who hails from Delta Central, a decision allegedly opposed by Okowa and which may have also compounded the controversy over the zoning of the top office.

However, the PDP Mega Rally is being held on Saturday January 22, 2022 and the party are expected to announce the direction where the governorship candidate would emerge from.

 GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that agitation for zoning to Delta Central has been challenged by a counter proposal on zoning along ethnic boundaries upon claims that major ethnic groups in the state like the Ijaw and Isoko would otherwise be locked out.

With additional reports from Punch

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