2023: Ethnic Differences Mustn’t Tear Deltans Apart, Group Says

Omon-Julius Onabu

A political pressure group, ‘Deltan Lives Matter’, has appealed to all stakeholders to eschew damaging division along ethnic lines on account of the 2023 governorship election in the state, saying a roundtable approach would resolve the seemingly vexed issue of zoning.

Global Coordinator of the group, Mr Moses Abeh, speaking in Asaba, therefore, called for convocation of a conference of ethnic nationalities in Delta State especially on the thorny issue of zoning of the governorship position.

He argued that that leaving the matter to constitutional dictates alone was not enough as every senatorial district in the state has equal stake regarding the governorship position in 2023, including Delta North, which produced the incumbent in the person of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.

“A conference of ethnic nationalities in the state would allow for robust discussion so as to prevent unnecessary bickering and heating up of the system, “he observed.

Flanked by the Deputy Global Coordinator, Mr Gabriel Mamuzo and other members of the group, Abeh said that it was gratifying that the governorship seat has successfully gone round the three districts without evidence of adherence to any zoning or rotation formula, saying it was imperative that all the ethnic groups put heads together to decide going forward.

Abeh said:”If zoning of the governorship seat is in the interest of deltans, that means no particular zone has the right to permanently take first in every round. We believe in zoning based on good conscience and morality.

“The political class should not expect things to work always in their ways, because the state belongs to us all. We are even tempted to make a stronger case for Delta North that took last to take first in this new round or that the Ijaws should produce the next Governor; that seems to us more honest, moral (right) and godly.”

The Deltan Lives Matter coordinator said that against the backdrop of attempts in the past by certain politicians to shut other ethnic groups out of the governorship position, there was need to get the different ethnic nationalities to a roundtable regarding 2023.

“We are aware of how our Delta central brothers hotly contested the governorship primaries against Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2006 and Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa in 2014.

“Had Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan lost the PDP governorship primary in 2006 to late Senator Pius Ewherido, or Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa lost the primary to Mr David Edevbie in 2014, will anybody be talking about zoning today?

“What if Chief Great Ogboru had been declared winner in the 2011 or 2015 governorship election would anybody be talking about zoning by now?

“We witnessed how Chief Great Ogboru was heavily funded by his Delta central brothers in PDP and other parties to unseat Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan in the Jan 6th, 2011 rerun and the April 26th governorship election of that same year. The entire Delta Central State Assembly seats were won by the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP)”.

Delta is a multiethnic state with Aniocha/Oshimili, Ijaw, Ika, Isoko, Itsekiri, Ndokwa and Urhobo as distinct ethnic nationalities.