2015: Apprehension in Ika constituency over race to succeed Uduaghan

The rat race to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has triggered tension in Ika Federal Constituency in Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State.
The alleged resignation of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Festus Okubor, has sent panic across the constituency, giving credence to his highly speculated ‘anointment’ by his boss.
Besides the Governor’s Chief of Staff, the Senator representing the district, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; the former Acting Governor of the state, Prince Sam Obi; and his counterpart in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Martins Okonta, are die-hard contestants for the seat.
The four of them, including two others from the area who have indicated interest in succeeding the governor, have refused to shift ground for one another.
The Chief of Staff, who is the new entrant into the governorship race, has started pulling his weight, thereby sending fears into the camps of others, including that of Senator Okowa.
The Eagle Online gathered in Asaba, the Delta State capital, that the governor’s aide has stopped receiving and signing memos emanating from his boss, which gave credence to his alleged resignation.
“Okubor’s emergence as the ruling party’s flag-bearer,” a source within the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, said, “will be through a battle of wits, following the brickwall Okowa’s ambition and that of the former acting governor of the state, who hails from his Ika North-East council, will constitute.”
Okowa has been pulling his weight since 2007 when he bowed to pressure from Abuja to step down for Uduaghan, maintaining: “I remain the most influential aspirant home and abroad in the race.”
Sam Obi has also consistently told those who care to listen: “I am the best man for the job.”
Okubor, now a trail blazer, banks on his many appointments, which has seen him serving the state since former Governor James Ibori’s time in various capacities, including health, and now under Uduaghan.
In the state chapter of the PDP, Ika Federal Constituency and Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, represented by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, where the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, hails from, fall under the district where the party’s zoning arrangement favours, hence the rat race to succeed Governor Uduaghan.