By EMMANUEL AZIKEN

It was a new narrative in the history of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State when the party leaders and elders passed a vote of confidence on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on February 29, 2024.

It was not as if it was the first time that a vote of confidence would be passed on a sitting governor of Delta State. The difference, however, was that it is the first time in the history of the party that a sitting governor would be winning broad support from all tendencies in the party.

All previous PDP governors of the state from Chief James Ibori through Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa one way or the other were faced with internal party challenges.

Ibori who was the first PDP governor of the state particularly faced his challenges from those who claimed to have been equal founders of the party in the state.

The late Senator Fred Brume, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi among others were leading dissenters against Ibori and would not have given themselves over to the kind of confidence vote that was passed on Governor Oborevwori on February 29.

Indeed, elements of the PDP were in the forefront of the prosecution of the alleged ex-convict saga that dogged Ibori in the latter part of his first term and for most of the second term. They were also cheerleaders when the former governor was chased abroad into the waiting hands of the British judicial system which sentenced him.

Governor Uduaghan who succeeded Ibori was faced with the problem of carrying the ‘burden’ arising from his blood relationship with his predecessor.

Indeed, elders who were hitherto otherwise supportive of Udua like Senator Edwin Clark turned against him because of the relationship with Ibori.

Uduaghan through his charm was able to mitigate the hostility within the PDP to some reasonable level. However, there were some who could not be pleased among whom were those who challenged him for the PDP ticket in 2007.

His successor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa was also faced with his own distresses with those who challenged him for the PDP ticket in 2014.

Okowa mysteriously brought some of them like Chief David Edevbie but carefully watching them until they exited.

However, unlike his predecessors, Governor Oborevwori appears to have either dissolved the cord of disharmony or put critics at bay through his street boy charm.

It was as such no surprise when the PDP Delta State Caucus, on Thursday, February 29, 2024, passed a vote of implicit confidence on him.

The motion for the vote of confidence, which was moved by Prince Ned Nwoko, Senator representing Delta North Senatorial zone and seconded by Senator Stella Omu, member of the PDP Board of Trustees and one time Senator who represented Delta South Senatorial zone in the National Assembly, was unanimously and overwhelmingly endorsed by the caucus.

The Delta PDP caucus meeting, which was attended by the Chairman of Caucus and State Chairman of PDP, Olorogun, Barr. Kingsley Esiso, former Governors Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Deputy Governor, Sir Benjamin Elue, State Executive Working Committee members of the party, former and serving members of the State and National Assemblies and other State and National leaders of the party from across the State, expressed unreserved satisfaction with Governor Oborevwori and charged him to continue with the wonderful work he is doing in delivering the M.O.R.E Agenda of his administration to Deltans.

•Aziken is a Lagos-based senior journalist and media entrepreneur.

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