2023 Nigeria Decides
Has Ibori Finally Been Disgraced In Delta?
Exactly a year after Chief James Ibori vowed to deflate the conspiracy of those who want to disgrace him in the politics of Delta State, the question of his future has come to the fore following the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori in last weekened’s election.
Ibori’s fame reached the peak in Delta State in 2014 when while incarcerated in prison in London he successfully set machinery for the emergence of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as governor against the desire of the then incumbent, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Though that late 2014 incident caused a major scar in the relationship between Okowa and Uduaghan, leading to the latter’s brief sojourn in the APC, the two subsequently reunited to successfully advance the emergence of Oborevwori as governor.
Today, Uduaghan is the toast of many in the PDP while his cousin Ibori is being regarded as a pariah.
Many are yet to speak on the possible damage in the relationship between Ibori and his cousin and successor, Uduaghan, over the decision of the latter to side with Okowa in the battle to enthrone Oborevwori.
Remarkably, Ibori’s daughter, Erhiatake Ibori who worked as a legislative aide for the outgoing governor, Okowa, while he was a senator and at the time her father was in prison in London, chose blood relationship and joined her dad in the rebellion against the PDP in the governorship battle.
However, Uduaghan allegedly sided with Okowa on the premise of the almost irreparable damage between him and Omo-Agege since their 2007 battle for the governorship ticket of the PDP.
When he hosted PDP leaders last November as he openly declared support for the aspirations of Okowa and Oborevwori for vice-president and governor, Uduaghan had said that the PDP governorship candidate could be held to account unlike Omo-Agege.
Before then, indications of a possible fight in the PDP family in Delta came in March 2022 when Ibori while endorsing the senatorial aspiration of Chief Ighoyota Amori vowed to disgrace those who he alleged want to retire him from the politics of the state.
“I am behind and I will support Senator Ighoyota Amori every step on the way, and anybody, anyone conspiring, anybody that thinks that because I am now a former governor they want to conspire to disgrace me, God will disgrace all of them.”
However, as it happened not only was Amori defeated in the senate election, Ibori’s opposition to Oborevwori melted like wax after he was believed to have instigated the last minute defections from the PDP to the APC to bolster support for Omo-Agege.
The question on the future of Ibori has now become an issue. After Okowa was humiliated in the presidential election, he recovered to reposition and make things right with the landslide victory he instigated for Oborevwori. But for Ibori after the defeat of Amori, and then that of Omo-Agege the future looks very bleak and the quesiton of a disgrace in Delta is even more piercing.
Send Us A Press Statement Advertise With Us Contact Us
And For More Nigerian News Visit GWG.NG