By Tunde Oso

An ex-militant leader and  National Coordinator of National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, NCNDE-A, Eshanekpe Israel, a.k.a Akpodoro, has urged Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, to emulate the leadership style of former governor of the oil-rich state, Chief James Ibori, especially as he is touted to being his political godfather.

Akpodoro in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja,  lamented that Governor Okowa was sidelining those who worked for his second term emergence, which include members of his coalition, noting that, ‘Okowa’s godfather’ didn’t lead the state in the style the Ika-born medical doctor-turned politician is running the affairs of the state.

ALSO READ: Insecurity: Uproar as Buhari says state police not an option

According to Akpodoro, who is also the Coordinator of the Urhobo Youth Forum for Change, UYFC, he alleged that the governor doesn’t see the state beyond his Ika kinsmen.

The former agitator said his coalition worked to ensure Okowa’s victory at the polls in 2019 only for the governor to sideline him and members of his group.

He called on the people of Delta State to rally support for Urhobo gubernatorial candidate in 2023, so as to wrest power from ‘cabal’, who he accused of emasculating other ethnic groups, particularly the Urhobo nation.

“The time has come for the people of the oil-rich state to show the current administration that Deltans and by extension, the Urhobos are not fools. We have the numerical strength in Urhobo land to decide who rules the state.

“In as much as we need other ethnic groups to succeed in our political drive, the Urhobos has the capacity to make bold system and shame our transducers. Nobody knows it all like the governor erroneously thinks, we shall work with other ethnic nations in the state to achieve our aim of capturing power in 2023.”

Vanguard News Nigeria