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Delta State Governor Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is set to announce Patrick Ukah as the next commissioner from Delta Oshimili North Local Government Area. Ukah from Okpanam is the former President of Hockey Federation of Nigeria. Xclusive Magazine gathered from a very reliable political insider that Ukah’s appointment is already a done deal and that barring any last minute delay Governor Okowa will submit his name to the State House of Assembly for approval this week or early next week.
Xclusive Magazine also gathered on very credible authority that Governor Okowa has settled for Mr Ukah against his will. Although the Governor is firmly in support of having someone from the North North axis of Delta Oshimili North Local Govt Area to produce the next commissioner, he was actually pushing for Andrew Egwunyenga of Atuma, a professor of parasitology at Delta State polytechnic Ogwashi Uku.
Okowa was, however, prevailed upon on one side by the Idumeje-Ugboko born Gabriel Ogbechie, the owner of Rain Oil who donated N50m to Okowa for his gubernatorial ambition, and a very close friend of Mr Ukah. And on the other side was Barrister Peter Nwaoboshi, who has a major say on who should be the commissioner from Oshimili North as a sitting Senator from the Local Govt, insisting that it should be Mr Ukah or no one else.
A source very close to Nwaoboshi told Xclusive Magazine on condition of anonymity that Nwaoboshi wanted Ukah at all cost to compensate him for his “back stabbing” nature. The source explained that prior to the national assembly elections, some persons in the local govt including but not limited to Dr Austin Obidi and Emeka Nmadu held series of meetings with Ukah on how to support Rt Hon Victor Ochei against Nwaoboshi, but when it dawned on Ukah that Nwaoboshi was likely to win the election, he quickly jumped ship and declared loyalty to Nwaoboshi.
“Cross-carpeting happens all the time in politics so it is often not seen as anything extra-ordinary. But in Ukah’s case, he didn’t stop at just jumping ship, he went further to back-stab his former colleagues by singing to Nwaoboshi all that have transpired in their meetings like a canary,” said our source.
Although a very good friend of Mr Ukah describes him as a marketer, sports administrator, a politician and great guy, in general fellow politicians see the former President of Hockey Federation of Nigeria as a two-faced politician who is not known for loyalty; someone who will dine with the devil today if it guarantees his political survival tomorrow.
The appointment of Mr Ukah, when finally announced, will put paid to the ongoing intense debate within the political circles in Delta Oshimili North about where the next commissioner from Oshimili North should come from. Those favourably disposed to someone from Ibusa making the cut argue that appointment to such lofty position must strictly be on merit not based on the village or area in the local Govt the person comes from.
But those against another political appointment from Ibusa opine that Ibusa already has its fair share of the State political spoils with Barrister Nwaoboshi as senator, Mrs Ajudua in the State Assembly and a principal officer, Dr. Austin Obidi the State PDP Auditor, Mr Austin Onianwa, Senior Special Adviser to Governor Okowa and Mr Chiejina Okafor the Local Govt PDP chairman. They are insisting then that in the spirit of equity and fair play the next commissioner should come from the North North axis of the Local Govt, which has the Ukala-Ukpuno born Louis Ndukwe, the current Local Govt chairman, as the only political office holder.
In a related development, Okowa’s original plan to appoint Mr Esewezie as one of his Senior Special Advisers is now dead in the water. Xclusive Magazine gathered on good authority that the Governor was forced to make a u-turn following our exclusive report on 13 July 2015 that he had prevailed on the State Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to discharge the murder case against Innocent Esewezie, Chief Fred Ajudua, Princess Ajudua and eleven other the murder suspects and to release Esewezie immediately from Ogwashi Uku prison where he was remanded after the first hearing of the murder case at Ibusa Magistrate Court, as he was being considered for a Senior Special Adviser position.
We understand that the Governor no longer considers Mr Esewezie a candidate for any position in his cabinet, although he still maintains very close relationship with him.
Source: Xclusive Magazine
