The Warri North political atmosphere is tense. Precipitation of uncertainty beclouds party supporters over who, between Hon. Maku Eyituayo and Hon. Solo Mikie emerged as flag bearer of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the January 2018 Delta LGA polls. Sources have hinted that the struggle over who flies the party’s flag in the forthcoming election in Warri North was actually between Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Hon. Michael Diden. Dr. Uduaghan, an immediate ex-governor of the state has been weathering storms to impress his choice of candidate on other party leaders, particularly Hon. Michael Diden who is being accused to have ridden on the back of Dr. Uduaghan’s governorship in 2014 to emerge as the honorable member representing Warri North in the Delta State of Assembly.
At as the time of going to press, the political innuendo in the council area, particularly in Koko the headquarters of the council is soaked in doubt and a reminiscent of the stalemate of 2003, when the choice of who would fly the party’s flag was an issue as a result of having partitioned the Warri North Peoples’ Democratic Party along two major factional interest; Concerned Itsekiris for Ibori, ( CII) and Itsekiri Democrats. Interestingly, Dr. Uduaghan, who is presently in the eyes of the storm, was the sole sponsor of Itsekiri Democrats that had the likes of Hon. Michael Diden and Hon. Toritseju Ebosa as foot soldiers. It was disclosed that Dr. Uduaghan, who was relatively new in the politics of the three Warri LGAs was advised to dislodge Dr. Alex Ideh from calling the shorts politically in Warri North if he, Uduaghan would attain any political relevance in the state. Hon. Diden, and several others like him assisted Uduaghan to unseat Dr. Alex Ideh in the political scheme of things in Warri North.
During the battle for the chairmanship ticket in 2003, it was reported that supporters were maimed on both sides, cars and houses were also burnt in what turned out as the most violent Warri North party primary in history. By the time the dust settled, Hon. Diden, at the expense of Hon. Francise Omatseye of CII emerged as the chairman of Warri North LGA, and Dr. Uduaghan mounted the dais of Warri North politics as the leader de facto in what was described as a political Tsunami which swept away Dr. Ideh, Hon. Benson Asin, Hon. Isaac Wikie, Richard Omare, Esq., Hon. Misan Ukubeyinje, Emma Ikomi, Chief Francise Omatseye and several others from the PDP fold in Warri North. Even though some of those CII surrogates made a political comeback to the fold, the story had since not been the same.
As a reward, Hon. Diden was issued a blank ‘political cheque’. By the time Dr. Uduaghan was sworn in as the governor of the state in 2008, Hon. Diden was already an ‘alpha and omega’ in the politics of Warri North. Things started falling apart and the ‘falcon could no longer hear the falconer’ soon after Dr. Uduaghan repudiated and jettisoned the agreement by members of the Ibori political family to hand over the baton of leadership to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa. Uduaghan’s flirtation with a ‘foe’ and a non Ibori political family cost him his membership and his continuous relevance as a member of the family. The disagreement between Dr. Uduaghan and Hon. Diden climaxed with the choice of who becomes the chairman of Warri North in January 2018. Most pundits were of the view that the love lost between Dr. Uduaghan and Hon. Diden was a clear case of the Frankincense monster. Perhaps, why Uduaghan has been abandoned by the likes of Hon. Irene Imilar, Hon. Adams Otimenyin and Hon. Solo Arenyinka to tame the ravaging monster he groomed during his reign as governor of the state.
Many party supporters have questioned Hon. Maku’s political impudence to seek a second in office when he knew it was a political taboo to do so, as no past chairman of the council had ever attempted to run for a second term in office. Suffice to say that the Warri North political firmament had never like now been volatile, another party loyalist said. Since the inception of the council in 1999, individual pedigree of aspirants was based for the consideration of whoever would emerge as the chairman of the council. The same source also hinted at what has inflamed the present conflict between Dr Uduaghan and Hon. Diden was not unconnected with the selfish ambition on either side of the divide to impose personal will on the party at the expense of others.
It will be recalled that Dr Uduaghan as governor of the state imposed Hon. Eyituoyo Maku on the party back in 2014. Hon. Maku’s fresh foray into Warri North chairman contest was said to have offended the sensibilities of most of the party leaders, who at one time or the other in the past had been denied the opportunity to run for a second term in office. Warri Mirror reliably gathered that no past chairman of the council had done a second term in office as a chairman of the oil rich council. From Hon. Oritsetimenyi Adams, Hon. Benson Asin, Hon. Michael Diden to Hon. Toritseju Ebosa nor was allowed to do a second term in office. A source hinted that not even the achievements of Hon. Benson Asin and Hon. Godwin Ebosa could have party leaders bend the rule in favour of those two ex-chairman. Perhaps, it was for the foregone reason that most of the ex- chairman declined to support Hon. Maku’s candidacy.
Hon. Diden’s strength in daring Dr. Uduaghan over Hon. Solo Mikie’s candidacy is said to be hinting on the fact that the former was presently in the good book of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who Dr. Uduaghan rejected as his successor in 2014. Yet, the like of Hon. Diden kept faith in Okowa’s candidacy. When Dr. Okowa won the governorship seat of the state in 2015, it was the beginning of a great free fall for Uduaghan and everything that represented him in the politics of the state. It was as a result of this that Hon. Diden was reported to have confronted Uduaghan eyeball to eyeball; “monkey work money chop”. Perhaps, the reason Dr. Uduaghan was denied a say in the selection of PDP ‘s flag bearers in Warri South and Warri South-West. Both flag bearers were never followers of Uduaghan nor ever in his camp.
Another sign that Uduaghan was losing out in the politics of the three Warri LGAs is the fact that he had exhibited early signs of defeat even when the battle had just begun. It was reported that Dr. Uduaghan was nervously shopping for a replacement of Hon. Maku in the eleventh hour. A move most observers said was an obvious sign of bowing to a Diden’s superior pressure. The report, even though it has been denied, had it that Uduaghan had approached Tsewo Edema-Eyen Esq., convincing him to throw his hat into the Warri North chairmanship contest. It was gathered that Tsewo who enjoys a robust relationship with both gladiators by virtue of being on the employment of Delta State Oil and Mineral Producing Area Development Commission, ( DESOPADEC) before and after Uduaghan was governor of the state, declined on Uduaghan’s request. Pundits were of the view that what Uduaghan failed to realize was the fact that Tsewo was more loyal to Diden than he was to him. Report had it that the relationship between Tsewo and Diden far transcends their relationship at DESOPADEC when the latter was the chairman of the board. Attesting to this was the fact that Tsewo was the only one among Diden’s close associates entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the arrangement of Hon. Diden’s birthday’s celebration, early 2016.
As it stands, little or nothing was being heard from Hon. Happy Mene’s camp. Hon. Mene is the third candidate contesting the chairmanship seat of Warri North under the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. Perhaps, Hon. Mene had lost out in strategies and support of the ‘movers and shakers’ of the party. Hon. Mene hails from the Benin river where there are more wards than we have in the hinterland of Warri North. An advantage which places any candidate from the Benin river ahead of any candidate from the hinterland in terms of a chance of becoming the chairman of the council area. Why Hon. Mene was not supported by the likes of Michael Diden and other bigwigs of the party that are also from the Benin river remains to be seen.
Hon Maku is Uduaghan’s maternal kinsman from Abiugborodo. His candidacy has not enjoyed much support from leaders of the party comparable to Hon. Mikie’s choice for the LGA seat. Mikie, a one time councilor in the council area hails from Koko, the headquarters of the council area yet enjoys support outside his home town. It was reported that Mikie’s kinsmen had sent a delegation to Dr. Uduaghan appealing to him to do everything within his power to stop Mikie from emerging as the chairman of Warri North council area. Why the elders of Koko would cross such a redline attempting to deny one of their own was not unconnected with last year’s Iweroko and Ameren family crisis, which Hon. Mikie was reported to have played a key role. It was gathered that it had been Diden’s grace that had kept Hon. Mikie in the contest for the party ticket considering the inside forces working against the latter’s candidacy.
No matter how difficult the Warri North PDP primary might be, no matter how dicey and how pulsating the process of producing a candidate for the January LGA election turns out to be, a candidate must emerge on, or before the 28th of October set as deadline to present party flag bearer to DSIEC,
