Warri North Polls: Ebosa Roots For Tanga, As Ejele Backs Asekutu, Alhaji Supports Okpoye Against Egbema Leaders’ Consensus Candidate, Francis Abulu

Warri North Unity Forum has reacted to moves by three political heavyweights who are jostling for their candidates to emerge in the March 6, 2021 Local Government Election in Warri North Local Government Area.

According to the statement, Ebosa has thrown his weight behind Dio Tanga and Ejele behind Smart Asekutu, while Alhaji supports Okpoye, saying this is against Egbema Leaders’ consensus candidate, Francis Abulu.

The Publicity Secretary of the WNUF, Young Franklin Ordely Oniyeburutan, in a media statement on Sunday, said that each of the three leading politicians apparently regard these surrogates as their respective candidates.

Adding: “Obviously, these candidates who have helped to maintain their political and economic base are about to be rewarded as one of them will likely be picked by the Governor for the job against popular opinion and the reasoned position of the Egbema Ijaw leaders.

*Nevertheless, Francis Abulu remains a round peg in a round hole as a man that can call upon or approach anybody for the good of the masses when it matters.”

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The statement continued: “If popularity and acceptance matter at all, then the three political heavyweights, in the persons of Godwin Ebosa, Hon. Micheal Diden (a.k.a. Ejele) and Alhaji Omoko, would have been more circumspect in their recommendation to the Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa. The three leaders and their three candidates are best described as struggling for the soul of the LGA while ignoring what is best and acceptable in the circumstances. This is really worrisome.”

“It is also a pity that Ejele, Ebosa and Alhaji Omoko have repeatedly rebuffed the consensus arrangement by Egbema leaders and other well-meaning Itsekiri leaders, who believe that the Egbema Ijaw Leaders opinion should be respected.

“With so many challenges confronting governance, it is the view of the Forum that leaders must think of the temperament of their actions and their consequences regarding what is in the best interest and future good of the people.

“Since the eight-man initial shortlist could not fly, they then narrowed it down to one aspirant for each of the heavyweights.Their expectation is that whichever way it goes, it is the same political family. The interest of the greater majority is of no consequence.”

The Forum, therefore, urged His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, to put the interest of the people and the fear of God as uppermost in deciding between the consensus candidate, Francis Abulu and the three others.

Nonetheless, the Forum expressed its readiness to support Ejele in the 2023 Senate race if he concedes to the greater good around the consensus arrangement, noting that when he was appointed by the Governor as DESOPADEC boss, the forum prevailed on Ijaws from other local government areas to allow him be because of his support for Senator James Manager immediately after the 2019 primaries.

This, the group said was exemplary, adding that the entire Egbema leaders praised him at that time.

According to the statement, they called on him not to use his closeness to the Governor to rock the boat, saying “of what use is it to give with the right and take back with the left? The goat and the rope should be allowed to go with the buyer.”

The Forum views “the aforementioned recommendation to the Governor as a political coup d’etât against the Egbema people after 27 years when they thought they had finally got their freedom.

They likened the situation to a knee on their neck, which they opined is a perfect plot for failure and later reference point.

“Egbema on ground zero; with no Commissioner of the State Executive Council and, House of Assembly yet a great injustice is about to be unleashed,” the statement also said.