Former minister of state for education and a peoples democratic party, PDP, leader, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, is one of the few politicians who call the kettle by its name. He says there is apprehension in delta state as some members of the opposition are already boasting that the governorship election petitions tribunal will either order a rerun or annul the victory of his party’s candidate, governor Ifeanyi Okowa, in its judgment expected to be delivered soon.
The business mogul also speaks on the leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union, the apex Urhobo group. Gbagi spoke with Emma Amaize at his Oginibo country home in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
There appears to be anxiety in Delta State over the forthcoming judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. What do you say about it?
I am surprised that people are talking about a rerun and making comments about the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal ordering a rerun or annulling the election of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. I do not see the tribunal doing any other thing than to uphold the governor’s election.
Prior to the elections, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, asked all the leaders of the party to go back to their various wards with a charge to ensure victory for the party. I do not see any reasons the tribunal will upturn the decision of the people of Delta to do a rerun.
It will make nonsense of the entire process because I say it categorically that Okowa won the election. I was involved in it and it will be a crime against this state that has no resources, to put us through another situation of rerun of an election. It will be cruel and ungodly, it will be a disaster.
We are aware of all sorts of information making the rounds that some people are trying to influence the tribunal to come up with a judgment of rerun and we have heard that some people in the previous government are involved and all that. But the tribunal is sensible, it has heard the submissions and I am certain that it will do justice and Okowa will have to continue with his responsible government.
You believe that Okowa won but the opposition insists that the PDP rigged the elections that brought Okowa to power and that is why they want the tribunal to upturn the election or order a rerun.
Now, let us put it this way, you cannot compare previous elections with this particular election. There is a great difference between previous elections in Nigeria and this one. The PDP has always been on ground in Delta. The opposition does not have party offices here and they do not have followers. You do not win elections when you are not on ground. This is opposed to the PDP that is deeply rooted in the state, these other parties did not go for election.
Why do you say other parties did not go for the elections when the APC presented O’tega Emerhor and Labour Party had Great Ogboru as their candidates?
Please understand me, I did not stay that they did not go and stand as candidates for election, what I said is that they have no followership in the state as at the time of the elections and even after the elections, they have dissipated. They have no locus standi to talk about elections because they have nobody on ground. We are not talking thuggery, we are saying these other two parties were not on ground in the state. I do not know where their offices are in the state.
Did you sign any pact with Okowa as you seem to be so protective of him these days?
I do not believe in signing pacts with anybody and in any case, the only reason I do what I do with Okowa is that we both contested the primaries of the PDP and he is a stakeholder in the party. From local government chairman to Commissioner, Secretary to the State Government and Senator, he has paid his dues. So, he is not an imposition like one career civil servant they wanted to impose on Delta. You know, it was an insult and we rejected it and so, once one of us who is a politician and has paid his dues in the state emerged, we all rallied round him 100 per cent.
Okowa is respectful, he has appointed more Urhobo than former governors James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan ever did. In addition, a lot of this whole thing comes from trust and his respect for understanding reached. Also, take it or not, he is a citizen of the state, he won the election and there is nothing you can do about the fact that he represents us in PDP as governor today. Delta suffered immensely in the past because of illegalities from the court and all that and I can tell you, nobody is going to try it anymore.
Before Okowa from Delta North assumed office, you were one of the prominent Deltans who disagreed, saying that the senatorial district cannot produce governor because the state capital, Asaba, is located in the area, have you changed your position now?
There was an internal arrangement in the PDP that is tagged zoning system. Quite honestly, that was what brought Uduaghan to office even though he is from a minority which was also what brought Okowa to power. As a party faithful and political leader, I cannot attempt to torpedo it. In fact, it is only a fool that sees reasons to change his decision and refuses to change. I therefore align with the fact that we have done what we did as a party and Okowa emerged as the governor.
Before now, the fear of Delta Central (Urhobo) is that a Delta North governor may likely marginalize the ethnic group. So far with Okowa, do you see such fear as real?
Yes, people have expressed that fear about what somebody from Delta North is going to do but if Okowa, even though I will not believe that, changes like a chameleon, as a lot of them have insinuated, some of us will go to him and ask him to take a retreat.
Indeed, if I see anything in my opinion that I disagree with about the state, I will tell him and some of us have gone to him to say governor, you have done this, but we think you should do B and C to make sure it is a win-win situation. Moreover, because he is man who listens, a man who honours his word, I do not see him changing. I think he is man of character which is why I work with him.
You fell apart with the apex Urhobo group, UPU, before the PDP primaries, last year and during the election you went as far as canvassing for its proscription. Have you reconciled with the union?
The UPU stands dissolved, I said earlier on that they are owners of every village, town, city and the country. I pride myself to say I am one of them in the affairs of Urhobo because my father who participated with the late Mowoe and other Urbobo leaders did not handover a baton of nothingness to us as children.
The UPU leadership I am talking about now has had the most disgraceful outing in our history, for the first time, they were collecting money from other aspirants from the North senatorial district. Now let me put it straight, the UPU said it wanted an Urhobo candidate but while they were saying that openly to make their bidding higher and better, they were collecting money and vehicles from Delta North candidates.
In addition, they were also collecting money from Urhobo candidates; these were poor people, who have no business running the UPU affairs. They are not politicians, I know one of them who has tried all his life to be a commissioner in the state. He told an Urhobo man to vote for an Ijaw candidate and this is a UPU official. So why go on the pages of newspaper to say UPU bans anybody who did not vote for UPU candidate. Their leadership is the worst ever.
Many still believe you fell out with UPU leaders because the union did not select you as Urhobo governorship candidate, what do you say?
No, no, no. You recall that they did not pick anybody. In fact, at the end of the charade, it was former Governor Uduaghan who picked a candidate for them because they were confused and did not know what to do. In any case, when the former governor picked a candidate for them, all the people from the North and South senatorial districts teamed up against them. So, they deserve what they got.
You made the statement that you proscribed the UPU. Who gave you such powers?
I have always told you that people own nations; it was in my compound here in Oginibo that I proscribed the UPU. And the media reported it. Few weeks or so later, UPU disintegrated and one of them dragged the president to court and the president also took his own measures and everybody scattered.
Let me tell you, whether we sit in a meeting or not, our pronouncement in matters like this makes a lot of meaning. Before I announced the proscription of UPU here in my compound in June, nobody said anything about what was going on. I dealt with the problem directly and declared it and they stand proscribed until tomorrow. There is no hard and fast rule about it, the question is that I made a pronouncement that UPU is proscribed.
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