Connect with us

Politics

2023 Election: Disquiet In Delta As Okowa’s Aides Resign

Published

on

The resignation of Michael Akpobire, an aide to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, has restarted the discussions about political developments in Delta State ahead of the 2023 election.

The debate is fuelled by the fact that Okowa is the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku Abubakar is the flagbearer.

Advertisement

Akpobire’s letter dated January 5, 2022, was addressed to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

He was the Executive Assistant to Okowa on Technical Education and Chairman of the Technical Education Board.

READ ALSO: Poverty, Hunger, Insecurity Signposts Of APC Governance – Okowa

Advertisement

Akpobire, a PDP chieftain in Enwhe/Okpolo Ward 9 in Isoko South Local Government Area, was formerly President of Delta State University (DELSU) Students’ Union.

In reaction, a Facebook user, Festus Tony urged “all sons and daughters” from Isoko, Urhobo, Kwale, Ijaw, Iteskiri to withdraw from the cabinet.

That ship will collapse before the end of this month (January). If Comrade Michael Akpobire, we call the first son of Governor Okowa, can be treated badly, who else won’t suffer the same humiliation?

Advertisement

“Micheal suffered for this administration even when we all thought Okowa won’t scale through. They gave him an office that even a million naira allocation don’t come to.

“The wickedness Okowa showed to other ethnic groups in the State is such that none of them left their respective office or position with something tangible.

“It is payback time for Okowa. More resignations are coming. You can’t be more Governor Okowa or PDP than Michael Akpobire. He is one individual who publicly declared first for Okowa’s governorship.

Advertisement

“As an appointee in Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan’s administration, he took the risk to openly declare for Okowa and formed the Canaanland Movement that gathered more than 50,000 votes for the ungrateful Governor.

“Because there is no reward system in PDP, Micheal was turned into an errand boy in Okowa’s administration. People who did not stake their life and political career got juicy positions, built houses and are living large.

“Today, he is leaving the PDP in pains. Comrades should have a deep thought because many in Okowa’s camp are dying in silence. Stand up and liberate yourself from mental slavery.”

Advertisement

Akpobire’s exit from the State government is the latest in a gale of resignations by Okowa’s appointees.

In December, Alaowei Promise Lawuru, popularly known as ‘Master Black’, resigned from his position as Special Assistant on Security.

The former Niger Delta militant hails from Ogbinbiri community in the Warri North Local Government Area of the State.

Advertisement

In October, Okowa’s Senior Special Assistant on Youth Development Patrick Oghenerhoro, a.k.a. Paleke dumped the governor.

He also left the PDP and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) to work for the governorship candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

Also in October, Onochie Osheokwu resigned as Senior Special Assistant on Youth Development.

Advertisement

Osheokwu said he was leaving to be fully ‘Obidient’ and support the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.

But in an interview with DAILY POST on Sunday, Okowa’s Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika said his principal was not disturbed by the resignations.

“The governor is a good man and cannot stop anybody who wants to leave for other things.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Omo-Agege Accuses Okowa Of Performing Low With N3.5 Trillion

“There are people seeking greener pastures, going to further their education, career or engage in other ventures.

“That two people resigned doesn’t mean there’s a problem. It’s normal, the governor is not worried about it”, the spokesperson added.

Advertisement

Last week, Omo-Agege, the Deputy Senate President, said Delta has received N4.2trillion under the Okowa administration.

The lawmaker also accused the governor of betraying the agitation for Southern presidency despite being one of the arrowheads ab initio. Okowa has denied doing so.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

Politics

VIDEO: How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo In New Interview

Published

on

Veteran actor and ex-spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of betrayal in the wake of internal party disputes.

In a viral interview with Symfoni which started trending on Saturday, Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in February 2025, revealed that Obi went against his advice and returned to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite alleged warnings.

Advertisement

According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission had recognised them.

He said, “Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say it emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.

READ ALSO: Nigeria No Longer A Democracy, Peter Obi Laments

Advertisement

“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic. If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

He said that despite privately urging Obi not to align with a group he described as “undemocratic” and “agents of the government,” Okonkwo said Obi went ahead to publicly endorse them.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him. What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.

Advertisement

“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do. I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.

READ ALSO: Teen Who Stood In Front Of Peter Obi’s Convoy Freed After Months In Kirikiri

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.

Advertisement

“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, with opposing factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

The Abure-led faction has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and anti-democratic practices, which critics say contradict the party’s reformist image.

Advertisement

Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier in the year.

Watch video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Politics

Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

Published

on

Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

Advertisement

People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

READ ALSO: I Don’t Want To Join Issues With Children, Amaechi Hits Back At Wike

Advertisement

While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

Advertisement

“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

READ ALSO: Democracy Day: Gov. Mohammed Advocates Unity, Good Governance

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

Advertisement

Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

Advertisement

Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

 

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

Advertisement

Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Politics

UNN Best Graduate Wins £33,000 Com

Published

on

A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s with the overall best graduating CGPA of 4.98, Chizoba Ejiofor, has secured a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship.

Education advocate and tech entrepreneur Alex Onyia, who made this known on social media on Thursday, said he had taken responsibility for supporting Ejiofor after the university failed to award him the promised N50,000 prize for academic excellence.

Advertisement

I have a good news. A very good news. You remember Chizoba Ejiofor, who graduated as UNN overall best graduating student with CGPA of 4.98, that UNN refused to fulfill the N50k price promised to him?

READ ALSO: Crisis Brews In UNN As Court Restrains Varsity From Conducting Convocation Election

“I took him up as a full responsibility. We started working tirelessly together since last year to secure a fully funded scholarship, and today we have the good news,” Onyia wrote.

Advertisement

Onyia revealed that Ejiofor was awarded a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship, valued at over £33,000. The package includes tuition, flight tickets, and monthly stipends.

This is fully funded scholarship from Commonwealth. Over 33 thousand pounds in scholarship, flight tickets and monthly stipends inclusive. No one can describe how happy and fulfilled I am today,” he added.

 

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending