By Jon Egie

Our attention has been drawn to the vexatious article with the above title published on the back page of a medium on March 29 edition and credited to a faceless writer with a pseudonym, who in his full bile-sac of vile attempted to disparage and vilify notable illustrious sons of Delta State in the persons of Olorogun David Edevbie, Chief James Augoye, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, Mr Peter Mrakpor (SAN) and Chief Festus Ovie Agas; and repudiate the political reality on ground by casting aspersion on the aforementioned.

It is a pleasure to announce that the identity of the writer has been discovered. The writer, a media practitioner in Delta State is a card-carrying member of the PDP. This man who exhibits hermaphroditical characteristics is in his mid 50s and has been in this game of deception of gullible readers for a long time and indeed has a sizeable number of dumb readers.

Our investigation revealed that he is vexed by the outcome of the recent local government council elections held in Delta State during which his political ambition was crushed by a political system that had earlier buttered his bread.

He is so vexed that he is on a revenge mission to hit at all who he perceived to be major actors of the hitherto sweet-system-turned-sour that pour sand on his garri and hence, the salvo.

In his firing range, the opening salvo was to knock out the persons of Olorogun David Edevbie, James Augoye, Oborevwori, Peter Mrakpor, Festus Ovie Agas and others who in his personal assessment, do not possess the character of a governor of his taste for Delta State.

For him, since these men served in the Okowa administration in one capacity or the other, they have been reduced to slaves who have no right to freedom of expression to project their political ambition and self-esteem.

Blinded by emotion resulting from his recent political misfortune, he deliberately refused to acknowledge that the wine of political succession in Delta State is brewed from within the ruling system and that it is only in the vineyard of the winery that the grapes to produce the wine are grown.

Otherwise, why would the writer carefully select Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi (his kinsman), Sen James Manager and Kingsley Otuaro (both Izon) as being the only persons with credible character and political potential of resistance should the incumbent governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa be opposed to their political ambitions?

He went further to describe his targeted victims, the other contenders as pretenders because, in his corked and warped reasoning, they would cower if Okowa commanded them to drop their individual ambition.

Here again he deliberately and criminally omitted the known facts and jettisoned the life jackets of the political buoyancy of Delta State which is anchored on rotation of power arrangement among the three senatorial districts.

He knows but refused to underscore the fact that James Manager and Kingsley Otuaro are not favoured in the 2023 governorship race by reason of the power rotation arrangement.

Gbagi, yes! But is he one of the grapes? That is where his delusion lies and when he believes that there is no sane human being in the whole of Delta State that is financially capable of contesting the governorship election apart from Gbagi, the deluge of his myopic political I nterpretations and calculations becomes too huge to measure.

In a state where the likes of Olorogun David Edevbie is standing? He recalled that when Olorogun David Edevbie did it earlier, Olorgun Kenneth Gbagi (with due respect to him), was not a match.

It is unfortunate that the fears are the results from the political wounds inflicted on him during the March 6, council polls have so beclouded him and deposited a residue of  paranoid of a replay in the 2023 guber election of Delta State and hence, he asserts that Governor Okowa will handpick, fund the campaign of his successor and ensure that the beneficiary becomes a zombie.

What an awkward thought- flow and way to denigrate these men of no mean social and economic status? The writer has forgotten that once, like a canary, he sang the praise of the PDP, made strong public arguments I n defence of the policies and decisions of the party as well as testified that Okowa was the best when the lot fell on a fair ground for him.

Imagine a man who could not push through his political ambition because of selfish desire and rebellion calling the illustrious sons of Urhobo land political weaklings who lack the financial muscle and capacity to stand alone.

Did he stand alone when he enjoyed the apple PDP gave him to savour for three years? And yes, when he stood alone in defiance of the party resolve, what was the outcome? Nobody does it alone and be assured that these persons who you seek to disparage will never, repeat, never “catch cold when Okowa sneezes”

These men are not just anybody thrown at Delta Central as choice of Urhobo but one among them, Olorogun David Edevbie is the collective choice of the Urhobo people for governor since 2014 and that position has not changed and therefore, there is no need for Urhobo to restrategize because their champion, Olorogun David Edevbie is fit and ready for the challenge in due time.

Well, at last, the motive of his vituperation is brought to light and there is need for him to be ashamed of himself for playing such broad day light anti-party game.

His action is a display of very poor sportsmanly character exacerbated further when he openly pulled down his own of the PDP and made case for the APC in a harmonious concordance with the logical expression of ‘ the enemy of my enemy is my friend and the friend of my enemy is my enemy’, and therefore, in vendetta of March 6, reminiscence suggests that Festus Keyamo (SAN) and Sen Ovie Omo-Agege (Deputy President of the Senate) are better politicians and the goal getters that Urhobo should draft into the 2023 guber race.

In his debased and confused mind he has forgotten his line of argument when he hailed his suggestive as a courageous dare-devil (Omovudu) in reference to his bravado and political exploits of his suggestive that have been globally condemned, by sane minds, as criminal and lacking of decent political character.

Perhaps it would be necessary to say that Olorogun David Edevbie ran against and defeated Ovie Omo-Agege and narrowly lost to Okowa in 2014 Primaries when he was outside government and by all indications he possesses the pedigree and financial resources to do so again.

Finally, we would want to expand the political horizon and perspective of the writer.

He, beyond the limit of ethnic bias centred on a politician who would protect only Urhobo interest in unmistakable terms, to the plane of a politician who would consider and protect the interest of every Deltan irrespective of ethnic nationality, political affiliation and religious leaning.

This is what Olorogun David Edevbie stands for, that was what Chief James Ibori practiced and that is the path Governor Okowa is following.

Jon Egie, a journalist wrote from Ughelli.