FALL OUT OF DELTA PDP CONGRESS: State Chairman Faces Legitimacy Crisis …As stakeholders accuses Okowa of using divide and rule policy

This may not the best of time for the new (s)elected Delta State chairman, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Barr Kingsley ‘Efejuku’ Esiso, who was allegedly imposed on the party by the governor, is reportedly facing legitimacy crisis, as most of the party leaders from Delta Central refuses to accept him as chairman.

ADVOCATE investigations’ reveled that some of the embattled leaders who felt betrayed by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who they accuse of using divide and rule policy to weaken the Urhobos in PDP ahead of 2019, have vowed not to recognized Esiso as the party leader or give him the needed support.

Esiso emergence according to reliable source in government cycle, who spoke to ADVOCATE in confidence, said that it is a calculated move by the governor to foreclose any possibility of the people of Delta Central trying to pull another stunt in 2019 by voting emblock for an Urhobo candidate, like they did in 2014, but for the timely intervention of the likes of Chief Ighoyota Amori and Chief Monday Igbuya who pulled the masters stroke.
The source added that part of the sins of the likes of Sir. Tom Amioku and Chief Emmanuel Ighomena, was their commitment to the Urhobo course during 2014 PDP governorship primary where they mobilized the Urhobo delegates to vote for the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan endorsed candidates, this sin, according to our source, Okowa has vowed not to forgive.
He added that following face-off between some of these leaders with the governor, they have also vowed not to compromised their integrity in the alter of politics by allowing themselves to be led by the nose, as presently done by the governor, who didn’t give them opportunity to elect an Urhobo man as PDP state chairman.
According to him, “since Okowa does not want to let go of the past and move on, we will seat back and watch him and his chairman. Let see if these people he is bringing on board now can market him to the Urhobo nation, come 2019.”
“2019 election is another ball game and with the way he is pushing to weed out all Uduaghan loyalist from the system; in an attempt to build his own political structure in Delta central, I bet you, the governor will soon crash, because his state chairman is not considered as an Urhobo, and Okowa will pay when the time comes,” he added.
It would be recalled that a chieftain of the party in Delta state, Sir. Christopher Obiuwevbi, a former State Assistant Publicity Secretary of PDP, accused some of Governor Okowa’s loyalist of trying to create crisis in the party by hijacking the processes for wards and local government congress across the state.
While accusing the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Ovie Agas of trying to hijack the party structure ahead of the 2019 party primaries, Chief Obiuwevbi said: “The actions of Agas and others have led to the factionalization of the party and this would not go down well for the party.”
But in swift reaction, the state Chairman Barr Esiso, said in a media report that he is not sure if Chief Obiuwevbi, was still a member of the PDP in Delta state adding that the congress conducted across the state was free and fair, and met the laid down rule of the party.