15/02/2025
SENATOR IFEANYI OKOWA, AND SENATOR NED NWOKO
WHO MADE EACH OTHER? THE PERSPECTIVE UNDER FOCUS.
With respect to the 2023 Delta North Senatorial elections which Senator Ned Nwoko won convincingly and meritoriously, I need to make some points of correction to some duplicitous assertions emanating from some uniformed media aides of the Delta State Government asserting that Dr. Okowa made Prince Ned Nwoko a Senator. I hereby want to correct that misleading information. Prince Ned Nwoko did not become a Senator through Okowa or anybody please.
When an event is destined to occur in a particular manner and or at particular time, nature will use any tool unexpected by men to protect, safeguard and advance the cause by fate. Those who believe in God almighty, the owner and creator of Heaven and earth and highlighted in the Holy Bible where it’s clearly stated that the earth is of the lord's and the fullness thereof, I will agree to this fact. Where I am saying that by his divine dispensation God usually arranged things in his own way for the actualization and fulfillment of destiny.
Prince Ned Nwoko became a Senator by right of divine proclamation and not by any man created by God, it’s an aberration for any man to ascribe the glory either to himself or to anybody outside God. The opportunity for Prince Ned Nwoko to be a senator was made available by fate and not deliberating by Dr. Okowa.
The truth is that when a man’s time has come, even his enemies will work and help to announce his arrival to the Land of DESTINY. When a man has a vision and consistently sets his eyes and all he does towards the attainment by such goal, the brick walls obstructing the person will one day collapse and become stepping stones leading to the accomplishment of the desired goal.
Its now obvious to everyone that all these years Prince Ned have been heavily pregnant with several life transforming ideas and searching for appropriate platforms (maternity) to give birth and ventilate those uncommon transformational though bottled up in his peripheral vision. See the bills he is releasing almost on daily/weekly basis on the floor of the hallowed chamber of the Senate thereby making the voice not even Delta North But Delta State to be heard. A lot of people do not know about most of the things that took place or happened in the Political theatre except you are privileged to be informed.
For the purpose of clarity I will like to educate the authors of such misleading stories and the general public of what played out during the 2019 general election to enable the general public appraise and know who made each other what they eventually become.
During the 2015 general election, I was appointed as the Director-General to the wife of the former PDP National Chairman Dr. Ahmadu Ali (Dr Mrs Marian Ali) popularly known as Enyikpakpando Campaign organization who was vying for Delta North Senatorial District ticket under PDP, having lost previous attempts to Dr. Okowa (2011) and Bar. Patrick Osakwe (2007)
Then Dr. Okowa was also vying for the PDP governorship. Everywhere was charged and tensed up with every candidate and their supporters campaigning vigorously. Incidentally Dr. Okowa's house was directly opposite Mrs. Alis house but I noticed they were not working together.
Prior to this time, the former state chairman of the party during Chief Ibori’s tenure Dr. Capt Pius Senebe a man that symbolizes fatherhood to me and whom I hold very high esteem invited me and told me he was taking me to somebody who wants to see me. We drove out together in his car and behold we found ourselves in Dr. Okowa ‘s house. At that time Dr. Capt. Pius Senebe was the chairman of Dr. Okowa's governorship campaign organization while Bar. Festus Agas was his Director General.
Upon entering Dr. Okowa’s living room Capt Sinebe informed Dr. Okowa (my Senator Sir, this is the Leo) suggesting they had previously discussed about me. Dr. Okowa’s response to that introduction exposed the agenda and our reason of coming there. Dr. Okowa’s response was (chairman you don’t need to introduce Leo to me, Leo is not just my friend or a political associate, Leo is a member of my family and cannot afford not to work for me) on quote.
We later held discussions, unfilled promises were made here and there before we left. On our way home Capt Sinebe asked me who I was supporting for governorship and I confided in him, he pleaded with me to direct all the delegates I have harvested to vote for Mrs. Ali for senate to vote for Okowa for governor.,
After their meeting between Sinebe, Okowa and I, I initiated a reconciliatory move to bring Dr. Okowa and Mrs. Ali together. I discussed with Dr. Okowa who was open for reconciliation, I convinced Nne as he is fondly called to follow me to Dr. Okowa’s house where the 3 of us met, discussed and agreed on the need for us to direct our delegates to vote for Dr. Okowa for Governor and Mr. Ali for senate and vice versa.
It was after that meeting I in company of Mrs Ali and her husband went to the presidency and the then National Chairman of PDP Dr Muazu, a Former Governor by Bauchi State. I remember it was the party National Chairman that voluntarily paid for her nomination form and it was after that visit that her husband Dr. Ahmadu Ali was named as the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.
I remember during our visits to the various power houses when issues of who do they think will make a better Governor for State acrose I kept whispering OKOWA into the ears Daddy Ali and NNE as the was fondly called and she will mention OKOWA based on the you support me I support you agreement we have earlier brokered. I recall on one occasion someone said madam you want OKOWA in the spirit of espirit de corps because you are both medical doctors, but the truth was because of the rub my back I rub your back agreement I brokered between them, if not for that meeting they were both on do your own I do my own voyage possibly arising from the fall out of 2011 senatorial primaries contest between the 2 of them which was repeated about two or three times which eventually said Okowa emerging victorious which led him to the senate.
Fast forward, the governorship primaries was held before the senatorial primaries, Dr. Okowa won with 406 votes with Mr. Edevbie and Victor Ochie trailing behind him. The truth is that if not all, most of the delegates I harvested for Mrs Ali voted for Okowa in compliance and adherence to our agreement with Okowa. After the guber primaries, it was time for the senatorial primaries the next day. It was at the cenotaph the venue of the primaries that we discovered that it was no longer as planned. It was during the exercise it downed on us that Dr. Okowa who was at the time the party’s flag bearer preffered Bar. Nwaboshi over and above Mrs Ali who felt disappointed kept mentioning my names Leo can you see what is happening asking me if what was going on was the arrangement and she insisted the primaries most be stoped or cancelled as a result of irregularities. She made some calls and the primaries was stopped and declared as inconclusive.
Finally the events that played out after them is now history with Bar. Nwaboshi emerging as the flagbearer and eventual Senator.
Fast forward, in 2019, I was appointed as the Director General of Prince Ned Nwoko’s campaign organization. When I was invited to take up that important duty post, I initially rejected it because I didn’t want it to look as if I had a personal grudge against Sen. Nwaboshi by leading the campaign train of his major opponent in 2015 and leading the campaign train of his another major opponent in 2019 four years after. I was prevailed upon to accept the offer by the Delta State former acting Governor Prince Sam Obi of blessed memory, he arranged another meeting between me and Ned and after listening to Prince Ned Nwoko’s ideas I discovered that the guy is not only loaded with beautiful ideas but had an internal burning desire to bring about a difference in governance.
I sincerely noticed that there was an ideological connectivity between both of us. I told him Prince Ned I have accepted to lead his campaign and NO BODY CAN BUY ME because I noticed he had something to offer to our people.
I commenced the journey of leading Prince Ned’s Campaign Organization not without a lot of internal and external challenges. One thing about Prince Nwoko is that he operates an open door policy which makes everybody having free access to him. So when I resisted all pressures and heavy inducement from the system to abandon Prince Ned and they noticed that it failed, they sent emissaries to Ned blackmailing me so that we could disconnect, same also failed. It instead reinforced my determination to make sure he succeeds. Though it was very obvious then that the so called system piloted by one man ( the emperor especially of Anioma politics) did not want Prince Ned Nwoko but Barr. Peter Nwaboshi to emerge as senator.
A lot of observers advised Prince Ned to seek for alternative platform to realize his ambition of being a senator which he did sort for my opinion. I remembered I was present in a meeting in Abuja where he was offered to be given the APC ticket to contest against Peter Nwaboshi of the PDP, offered to be paid the debt the Federal government was owing him to enable him have enough fund to persecute the election and apart from that he was promised to be made a minister if he eventually looses the election.
Back home we discussed it and his opinion and position was very clear. He said DG if I pick APC ticket for senate in Delta North, my exit from PDP would definitely pull a lot of our people away especially the not too educated ones who may not be able to differentiate the differences between APC and PDP which may lead to our brother Okowa losing the elections. He told me that he wouldn’t want Anioma to lose its governorship seat for him to realize his ambition of being a senator because a governor is better position to attract development to our people than a senator. Then we both resolved to remain in PDP and struggle for the ticket inspite of the fact that it was obvious to everybody and the general public that Bar. Nwaboshi was the government preferred candidate.
I led my campaign team and we campaigned vigorously traversing the length and breadth of Delta North even through ungodly hours Bar. Nwaboshi a seasoned and experienced politician knew them that the bar of campaigning for elective position have been raised instead of the usual practice of PDP all the way.
My campaign team really worked so hard to the point where very notable PDP leaders who have never met me were eager to know me and when I met one of the prominent leaders from Delta North, Chief Jerry Ossai a former commissioner for Agriculture in the state during the military era he said ( Are you Leo?). I said yes he then said ( since my years in politics this is the first time I am seeing and meeting a DG who is campaigning as if he is the principal) on quote.
Fast forward, in politics the lever of governance and determinant of who become what to some extent lies in the hands of the governor who is the leader of the party in the State.
The primaries was conducted, the entire state structure was unleashed playing the dual role as umpires and enforcing the systems directives to the delegates from their respective wards to deliver the systems candidate which was Bar. Peter Nwaboshi. One thing they never knew was that I have visited most of the delegates in their private homes and entered into a covenant agreement with them that since it was going to be a secret ballot, they will vote against the instruction of the system and the leader who made it possible for them to emerge as delegates.
The voting commenced and ended in the midst of so many irregularities and they started counting. The process was such that the ballot box was placed in front of us the candidates agents and the sorting began i.e once they pick a ballot paper they will announce the name and hand it over to the agent representing the candidates .
Surprisingly, in the sequence of announcing picked ballot paper, Neds name was more frequently mentioned than the other two aspirants.
I recall that a reasonable number of ballot papers in his favour were rejected and disallowed i.e some ballot papers that bore names like Sen. Ned, Sen Nwoko were voided because according to them it was an aberration to address him as a senator because he was not yet one at the time, some that bore the spelling NEED instead of Ned were voided, some that bore Nwuko were voided as a result of improper spelling. My protest that these were legitimate votes meant for Ned fell on deaf ears instead I was being accused of fighting the system/some even said you are fighting Oga. The question I kept asking is which Oga am I fighting ?
I insisted I was not fighting any system, but demand that the right thing should be done as we were all assured of a impartial level playing ground before the commencement of campaign. I still recall that at a point of sorting and announcing of ballot papers, Bar. Nwaboshi left the stadium presumably thinking he has lost the primaries before he was later called to return to the electoral venue.
The primaries was conducted and concluded, as expected the will of the system prevailed and Prince Ned was declared as having lost the primaries narrowly. Judicial efforts were seriously made calling for consideration of the abnormalities to either upturn the result to reflect the real result or call for a rerun to no avail.
While that process was ongoing, Prince Ned invited me along with other directors of my campaign team and directed me emphatically to collapse my campaign structure to work for Dr. Okowa. I remember asking him how do we get money for such assignments considering what we have already invested in the primaries were all the delegates ( for and against ) were settled. In response he directed me to go and draw my working plans that he can still afford a billion naira to support governor Okowas campaign efforts insisting, we can not risk losing the governorship seat to an Urhobo Man ( Chief Great Ogboru) who was the flag bearer of APC governorship ticket while Chief Adams Oshomole then APC National Chairman was constantly in the electronic media shouting ( Okowa must go).
The next day he released a hundred million naira to the Director of Finance of the States Campaign Council who was my colleague in the State Executive Council where we both served as Hon. Commissioners.
The next day I presented to him a structural campaign working plan code named ( Operation Return Okowa (ORO) . He approved it and made available another hundred million as my take off grant to mobilize which was distributed in line with his directives to the various support groups under our campaign organization, when he received complaints from certain group who were not captured, he released more funds to me to make sure every group was captured. The following day he informed me that he had a meeting with Governor Okowa and after discussing the challenges confronting him Okowa’s campaign council he Ned had volunteered to take care of all the support groups under the states campaign council, along with religious/professional bodies, the non indigenes etc. then he further told me that Governor Okowa have nominated Chief Festus Ochonogor who was at the time his senior political adviser and presently the managing director of desopadec an oil interventionist agency to work with me and would provide the list of beneficiaries or any other information that I may need, He directed Ochonogor and I should work together which we did after he has provided the funds.
He further released another two hundred million naira to the coordinators of our campaign council in all the local government and wards.
I remember I nominated Mr. Akpongbo of blessed memories my then Director of Youths who in from Ika Dr. Okowas area to be in-charged of disbursement under my overall command.
Apart from his huge financial contributing he directed me to mobilize all our women from the nine local government area of Delta North to follow the PDP campaign train to the 25 local government area of the State under his sponsorship. He physically campaigned all through with the states campaign council until Dr. Okowa was announced as having emerged victorious.
These are some of the things that happened behind the scene. Let us tell ourselves the truth, what made Sen. Ned to cross to APC is the same thing that made Sen. Nwaboshi to cross to APC.
Judging from the above we can see that Sen. Ned was given more to PDP than what PDP have given to him. It’s quite sad that PDP now has a tradition of maltreating committed leaders who have sacrificed so much to build the party.
Prince Ned really contributed so much especially in Okowa’s first, second and his vice presidential bid.
THE CAUSE OF THE CRISES IN PDP
The cause of the crises ravaging in PDP is the act of undermining the constitution/laws regulating the parties activities. The party’s crises revolves around classical serious abuse of power, obstruction of justice, travesty, lack of accountability in the system, and the perpetuation of bare faced impunity. Dr. Okowa had the ambition of going to the senate in 2023 after leaving office as Governor and to achieve that a Sen Peter Nwaboshi who was already a second term senator needs to be weakened from having control of the party’s delegates even in his ward and local government area in anticipation of party primaries.
His resistance to accept this breaking of wings and powerless syndrome led to his being frustrated out of the party.
As the electoral steam started gathering, the opportunity to be a vice president showed up, the process of nominating who should be the Vice Presidential candidate of PDP was manipulated where 3 votes became greater than 13 or 14 impunity/injustice and that was what gave Prince Ned the opportunity to contest for the primaries for senate which he won meritoriously and his eventual victory at the general polls.
If Dr. Okowa has not gone to contest for the position of vice presidency or have allowed Bar. Wike who actually got the highest number of votes from those that were asked to select one person from the three person’s short listed for consideration as the parties Vice Presidential candidate, PDP would probably have won the presidential elections because if one looks at the margin between APC, PDP and Labour Party you will discover that the difference is very slim. We obviously wouldn’t have had the formation of G.5 PDP governors who worked against the presidential elections out of protest.
We would not have had the now popular song E ye nde eba- e- ye nde eba which is similar to the age long political slogan of A little to the right and a little to the left presently championed by Barr. Nyeson Wike. Atiku would have probably been the President with a Wike as his Vice and an Okowa would have seamlessly gone to the senate because he has the party structure in his pocket. And will only end up being an exercise in futility. Sen Ned probably may have been a minister, an ambassador or something else depending on what God wants for him. And above all this crisis rocking PDP that have torned the party apart may not have taken place.
God in his wisdom may have caused confusion and dangled the Vice Presidency actractive grape before Okowa to make way for Sen. Ned to come and liberate our people from oppression injustice and arrogant abuse of power being willfully dispensed on the people of Anioma.
How does one explain that a party whose constitution stipulates that the highest political office holder in any area or constituency is the leader of that territory. It doesn’t matter if you like that person or not. God in his wisdom gave the person the opportunity to occupy the office or position that confers that leadership status on him or her. In total disregard to God’s will low ranking people are now imposed to lead their superiors.
The reason Sen Ned left PDP is as a result of the facts that his constituents are denied of basic amenities, brazenly of his rights and privileges. What is there is allowing a serving senator the opportunity to produce his LGA/ward exco, nominate the Commissioner representing his LGA, his LGA Chairman and Councilors to give him a sense of belonging as the only senator from Delta State. You never can tell maybe if they have adopted that approach, which is the right and proper thing to do, he could have probably served out his tenure and may have lost the primaries for a reelection not because he has not performed well but because the remaining 8 LGA’s delegates were not under his control and were not installed by him.
No regrets because what is happening now needs to happen for the liberation of Anioma people from the strong hold of perpetual strangulation and injustice which the regime have institutionalized.
The over ambitiousness of the emperor of Anioma/Delta Politics is the only reason why PDP is in crisis today. His efforts to be the alpha and omega who determines who gets what in the state has now destroyed the solid political structure built by the founding fathers of the party.
Most of the architects that built the party have been frustrated out and replaced with weak amateurs who he believes will remain loyal under his control to maintain his hold in power which belongs to only God.
Conclusively its very incorrect for anybody to lay claim to making Sen. Ned a senator outside God.
This very wrong information being sold to the public in like the fable of the lion and the fox where the fox was shown in the picture as leading the lion and a stranger remarked.
Surely this picture was made by a friend of the fox, has someone else made it, it would have shown the Lion as leading.
I believe Sen. Ned in destined to render a lot of service to this nation and certain shifts need’s to be made here and there to provide him with the necessary platform to render those services.
The bible tells us that though they shall gather but because the gathering is not of the Lords they shall scatter.
Sen. Ned have said it is so many for as that he doesn’t want to be governor of either Anioma or Delta State but if God wants him to be, who are we to question God.
What I can say in that he has done well as a senator within the less than two years he has been in the senate much more better than all the previous senators we have had in Delta State put together. He has distinguished himself as someone who has parental authorities in legislative matters.
He has done very well and God willing no matter the gang up and propaganda he will return back to the senate God willing if he escapes being a governor.
Upon a careful analysis you will discover that majority of the people that calls the shots in the government of the state today are people that came into the party between 2011 and majorly 2015. Majority of them do not know the forest where the woods they used in cooking the food called PDP today was fetched from.
They just came in with little or no contribution as opportunists to destroy visions of the founding fathers.
My position is that God is the one that made Prince Ned Nwoko a Senator and not any man instead God used him Prince Ned to sponsor and provide the platform for all of them to find themselves in the various positions they found themselves today.
