Delta 2023: Fresh Rumpus Over Zoning As Group Says Ijaw Won’t Wait Till 2031

Fresh rumpus against the zoning of the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State is arising in Delta State with a pan-Ijaw group insisting that they cannot wait till 2031 for an Ijaw governor of Delta State.

The Delta Ijaw Agenda for Governorship 2023, DIA-G23, has thus asked the Urhobo in Delta State to lay down their claim for the Ijaw to produce Senator James Manager as the PDP candidate in the 2023 governorship election.

The group is also asserting that zoning has never been put forward as a basis for contesting the governorship ticket of the PDP in Delta State.

The group in a communique issued by the director general, Felix Okpe, following a meeting in Warri, said: “We (Ijaw) cannot wait till 2031 to produce a governor from Delta -Ijaw extraction, rather 2023 is the set time for us to produce Senator James Ebiowou. Manager, the first PDP state chairman, who has paid his dues by installing all the previous governors in the state.”

 “The leaders and stakeholders of PDP should forget about zoning governorship in 2023 to allow peace to reign in the party because there is nothing like zoning since the inception of the party in 1999. Our stand is that the party should vehemently support Senator Manager to emerge as governorship flag- bearer.

“The party should not prevent Senator Manager, the consensus candidate of Delta- Ijaw extraction because we cannot take this political marginalization and oppression any longer.

“The political leaders from Delta Central should not be selfish, but be considerate for the sake of equity and fair play to allow Delta- Ijaws to produce the next governor of Delta state because Delta state belongs to all of us as they have constantly denied Delta- Ijaws the number one seat of the state since 1991,” the group stated.

While affirming that Manager was unstoppable, DIA said the group thought over last Friday’s caucus meeting of the party, “where former governors, Chief James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, incumbent governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, deputy governor , Barr Kingsley Otuaro, Senator Manager and other party leaders  on the said gentleman zoning arrangement.”

It said media report indicated that “Senator Manager, Barr Otuaro, both governorship aspirants from Ijaw extraction and former state PDP chairman, Chief Edwin Uzor, opposed the zoning arrangement because since inception of the party, there was nothing like zoning, therefore, 2023 cannot be exception.”

The stance on zoning the PDP ticket along the senatorial zone would mean that the Ijaw would wait till 2031 to be governor of Delta State.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the bias by the Ijaw and some other stakeholders towards Manager flows from his role as the pioneer chairman of the PDP in Delta State.

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