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THE FACTORS THAT MADE SENATOR IFEANYI OKOWA WIN AND OPPOSITION LOSE




The April 11, 2015 governorship polls decided who the next governor of Delta State would be from May 29, 2015. That has been established. What maybe unknown to many is the reasons the elections were won and lost. From all the indices and projections made by pundits prior to the election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party was to become the winner of the polls and he won. There are a few reasons for that.

First, Delta State is a stronghold of the PDP and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Since the return of democracy in May 1999, Delta State has given over 75% of its votes at every election to the PDP. In the last April 11 Governorship polls, the same feat was replicated by the PDP. PDP is so entrenched across all the wards, State constituencies, federal and senatorial districts of the State to be uprooted so easily. This was also reflected in the number of national and State Assembly members the PDP earned in the polls.

The so called bandwagon effect that seemed to momentarily put APC in speculative advantage was ultimately proved to be a mere wishful thinking in Delta State.

Another reason Senator Okowa won is the strong morality for zoning in the State. Since the creation of the 24 years old State, nobody from Delta North Senatorial District has ever ruled Delta. Central have taken 10 years with Chief Felix Ibru and Chief Onanefe Ibori. Delta South under Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is about completing its 8 years tenure. The popular clamour for power shift to Delta North Senatorial District was an idea whose time came and the opposition couldn’t overcome the movement.

Accordingly, Delta North Senatorial district where Senator Ifeanyi Okowa hails from gave him their block votes. Chief Great Ogboru and Chief Otega Emerho who happens to be from Central Senatorial District stood no chance at all, as that senatorial district ironically was the biggest battleground for the three parties, PDP, Labour and APC. In the same way, Delta South, especially, the Ijaw nation also keyed into the Senator Okowa/Kingsley Otuaro ticket for their foremost son from Warri Southwest local government, Barrister Otuaro – Deputy Governor -Elect and gave him their massive votes.

With the above scenario, the Labour party and All Progressives Congress governorship candidates in Delta State were primed to fail woefully in the Saturday, April 11, 2015 governorship polls. As all their preparation for the Governorship election tended to give the impression that they were running for Senatorial election in Delta central. All their efforts, consultations and campaigns were centred on achieving the Uvwiamughe declaration, that reduced them to ethnic bigots and not gubernatorial personalities.

Across the State the leading stakeholders and elders in politics were in the PDP, supporting the PDP to retain the State. This was also the same thing as the youths in Delta State were solidly mobilized for the PDP. The reasons Labour and APC lost are aplenty, it will take a whole season to enumerate them.

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