WITH less than 10 months into the governorship of Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, there are covert signs that the race to succeed him in 2015 has begun in earnest.Political discourses have tended to be focused on that quintessential candidate who will fly the banner of the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, among the motley crowd of emerging aspirants who have shown subtle interests in taking over from Dr. Uduaghan on May 29, 2015.

The Search for excellence

The search within the PDP has been consciously narrowed down to the Delta North Senatorial District (comprising seven local government areas), a district that has not produced a governor in Delta State since its creation on August 27, 1991.

For the records, Chief James Onanefe Ibori (Delta Central) was the Governor of Delta State from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007 (a period of eight unbroken years).  The current helmsman of the state, Dr. Uduaghan (Delta South), has done a first term (May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2011) and is currently into a second term that commenced on May 29, 2011 and will lapse on May 29, 2015.  The natural sequence after the Uduaghan tenure should devolve on the Delta North Senatorial District to produce an acceptable candidate of the party who will ultimately fly its ensign in the governorship elections of 2012.

This unwritten understanding within the ruling party puts enormous pressure on major stakeholders and the general body of party men and women from both the Delta North Senatorial District and the state at large, to present the best among those jostling for the coveted position.

Even though the PDP constitution states in Article 7.2(c) that “in pursuance of the principle of equity, Justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels”, it does not guarantee a high performance index as the benefiting area (in this case, the Delta North Senatorial District) is expected to put its best foot forward at all times.

One common grain of thought among the contending camps in the Delta North’s quest for the state’s governorship in 2015, is the desire to present the primus inter pares (first among equals) within the rank of those who have shown interest in the job.

Outside the myriad permutations that will best aggregate those defining factors of good governance, prompt and equitable delivery of democracy dividends and acceptability across the diverse political, social, professional and generational divides within Delta State, the right choice of a candidate will greatly promote the image of Delta North Senatorial District.

Instituting generational governance

In line with global trends that has thrown up world leaders like Barack Obama, David Cameron, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, etc, who became leaders of their countries at relatively young ages and excelled, the choice of a governorship candidate/governor of Delta North extraction should be predicated on that young person who will proffer and embody a pragmatic leadership model based on a fresh platform of corporate ideals for the pursuance, realisation and consumption of the positive ideals of governance, accountability and due diligence and equitable dispensation of the dividends of democracy.

The giant development strides made by Chief James Ibori (Delta), Mr. Donald Duke (Cross River), Dr. Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Chief Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Mr. Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Mr. Gabriel Suswam(Benue) and others were no flukes or mere happenstances.  These gentlemen were below 50 years of age when they became the helmsmen of their various states and made a generational statement with their achievements and strides in sustainable development.

Above all, the people of Delta State, being socially and politically proactive, crave for the sustainance of generational shift that has become an important component of the leadership structure of the state at executive, legislative and judicial levels.

Rather than be a limiting factor, the issue of young persons at the height of administration or governance should be a defining one, especially if weighed against the trajectory of such a person who is aspiring for higher responsibilities.

In this wise, Delta North Senatorial District has a suffusion of those with this quality among whom a unanimous choice should be made to be the candidate of the PDP in the 2015 governorship election.

Defining leadership standards

Indications point to the conventional wisdom among the people of Delta State that the momentum of infrastructure development, human capital development and sustainable security of life and property should be maintained and surpassed post-Uduaghan.  It is also believed that only a core player within the party’s power matrix who has imbibed its core values of sustainable development and a strong desire to impact positively on the larger mass of Deltan people, should be entrusted with the governorship of the state post – May 29, 2015.

To achieve expected successes in governing Delta State, the preferred candidate should possess a strong private sector background with verifiable indices of administrative acumen and be a successful and astute manager of men and materials.

In addition to being a proven professional in his calling, such candidate should also possess a strong tenacity of purpose, suaveness, decisiveness, fearlessness, selflessness, focused vision and mission, and unwavering philanthropy.

To achieve these aforementioned ideals and a high degree of success, a governor of Delta State, post – May 2015, will be expected to hit the ground running and not devote valuable time “learning-on-the-job”.  Such holder of the position should be conversant with the nitty-gritty of the running of the three arms of government – the executive, legislature and judiciary – and maintain a working synergy for the benefit and well-being of all Deltans.

He should be able to deploy his cognate experience (especially in the private sector and governance) and positive networks to enhance and strengthen the levers of good governance of Delta State as the craze now is development through competition.

Delta people’s purview of those leadership values that will sustain their confidence  in the fact that government works for the benefit of the general good, will be reinforced and symbolised by that leader who will serve as a veritable agent of positive change.  The one who will create the enabling and conducive environment for industry and commerce to thrive; show enough commitment and passion for the equitable development of Delta State; possess a fat dossier of verifiable services in the public and private sectors of the state and national economies; have the ability and foresight to initiate, drive and sustain that momentum of change bequeathed by previous achievers and be pragmatic and pushful enough to take Delta State to the next level.

It is no gainsaying the fact that Delta North Senatorial District possesses that quintessential person who will fly the PDP flag in 2015, who will prevail in the governorship election and excel in all positive ramifications as the Governor of Delta State.

Mr. AMECHI OKOLO, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.