An aspirant for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege, has vowed not to step down before the primaries, The Eagle Online has been told.
The position of Omo-Agege, it was learnt, is premised on the fact that he stands a good chance of emerging the candidate of the PDP, sources close to him have said.
This is coming despite the all-night meeting by the leadership of the PDP in Delta State that resolved to back a former Commissioner for Finance in the state, David Edevbie.
Omo-Agege’s resolve to forge ahead is also said to have the backing of the Presidency.
The Presidency is said to favour Omo-Agege “because he is the only candidate who can win the state for PDP and also ensure the President gets a landslide victory in the general elections”, a source close to him said.
According to the source, President Goodluck Jonathan thought it wise to stick to the original recommendations of the Urhobo Progressive Union and other critical political stakeholders across the three districts of the state.
This, the source said, is as opposed to the “induced endorsement of David Edevbie”.
The UPU had earlier met and recommended some persons to the Presidency in line with the Uwviamuge Declaration to support only the political party that fields an Urhobo man as its candidate for the 2015 governorship in Delta State.
In the letter they sent to Abuja earlier, the apex Urhobo socio-cultural group was quoted by the source as having pencilled down Omo-Agege as its first choice, with Paulinus Akpeki coming second on the list.
The source said the decision by the UPU was strongly informed by the fact that Edevbie was among the people who tried to truncate President Jonathan’s emergence as the president of Nigeria at the incapacitation and subsequent demise of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The source added: “It is established that it will be politically suicidal for the Presidency to endorse his candidacy, especially with the desperation of the opposition APC (All Progressives Congress) to wrest power from the PDP leadership and the strong anti-Jonathan sentiment by a section of the Northern political elite.
“President Jonathan’s preference for Omo-Agege is anchored on the prominent Delta politician’s loyalty and robust relationship with the presidency as well as his political deftness, having been seen as the only gubernatorial aspirant among the pack with goodwill and contacts that transcend ethnic and partisan boundaries in a complex state like Delta.”