Ejele, Alhaji moves for Smart Asekutu, Spencer Okpoye, respectively, against the consensus arrangement around Francis Abulu candidacy by Egbema Leaders.
*Why Francis Abulu Is The Round Peg In The Round Hole.
The attention of the Warri North Unity Forum has been drawn to the subtle moves by three political heavyweights who are going for the Jakule for their aspirants in the March 6, 2021 Delta State Local Polls.
The publicity secretary of the WNUF, Young Franklin Ordely Oniyeburutan, in a press statement said “each of the three leading politicians apparently regarded these surrogates as their respective aspirants”.
According to him, these aspirants have helped to maintain their political and economic base and are about to be rewarded as one of them will likely be picked by the Governor for the job against popular opinion and the reasoned position of the Egbema Ijaw leaders.
But he maintained that nevertheless, Mr Francis Bekesuode Abulu remains a round peg in a round hole as a man that can be called upon or approach anybody for the good of the masses when it matters.
He noted that if popularity and acceptance matter at all, then the three political heavyweights, in the persons of Godwin Ebosa, Hon. Micheal Diden (a.k.a. Ejele) and Alhaji Omoko, would have been more circumspect in their recommendation to the Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa
The three leaders and their three aspirants, he said, are best described as struggling for the soul of the Local Government Area while ignoring what is best and acceptable in the circumstances, saying that this is really worrisome.
“It is also a pity that Ejele, Ebosa and Alhaji Omoko have repeatedly rebuffed the consensus arrangement by Egbema Leaders and other well-meaning Itsekiri leaders, who believe that the Egbema Ijaw Leaders opinion should be respected”, he said.
He added that; “With so many challenges confronting governance, it is the view of the Forum that leaders must think of the temperament of their actions and their consequences regarding what is in the best interest and future good of the people. Since the eight-man initial shortlist could not fly, they then narrowed it down to one aspirant for each of the heavyweights. Their expectation is that whichever way it goes, it is the same political family. The interest of the greater majority is of no consequence”.
The Forum, therefore, urged the Governor to put the interest of the people and the fear of God as uppermost in deciding between the consensus candidate, Mr Francis Bekesuode Abulu and the ‘three fingers’.
The Forum expressed it’s readiness to support Ejele in the 2023 Senate race if he conceded to the greater good around the consensus arrangement and noted that when he was appointed by the Governor as DESOPADEC Chairman , the forum prevailed on Ijaws from other local government areas to allow him be because of his support for Senator James Manager immediately after the 2019 primaries, adding that; “It was examplary. The entire Egbema Leaders praised him at that time”.
“Therefore, it is our take that he should not use his closeness to the Governor to rock the boat. Of what use is it to give with the right and take back with the left? The goat and the rope should be allowed to go with the buyer”, he said.
He also said that; “The forum view the aforementioned recommendation to the Governor as a political coup d’etât against the Egbema people after 27 years; when they thought they had finally got their freedom, then comes a knee on their neck, a perfect plot for failure and later reference point: to ask us what we did with the power when we got it. To avoid that unwanted scenario, wise counsel must prevail in the consensus arrangement”.
“At the moment, Egbema has no Commissioner in the State Executive Council, no member of House of Assembly and yet a great injustice is about to be unleashed on the people”, the Publicity Secretary said.
