Society Gists

SocietyGists deconstruct the intrigues, underground maneuvers, threats and drama that characterised the December  primaries of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State and how Chief Government Ekpemupolo (AKA Tompolo) emerged the de facto leader of the party in the state

THERE is no longer any doubt in the minds of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) faithful that Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a former warlord and leader of the Niger Delta Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), is the leader of the ruling party in the state.

With a strong role in the emergence of the party’s governorship candidate, Dr  Ifeanyi Okowa, a serving senator, and after single-handedly picking his cousin and comrade in the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), Chief Kingsley Otuaro, as Okowa’s running mate, the man popularly known as Tompolo or GOC (to close allies) has burnished his reputation as the political leader of the party, despite attempts by the party and the man himself to deny it.

Tompolo was instrumental to the success of at least two of the three senatorial flag bearers in the state. He also had a hand in the emergence of at least three of the four House of Representative candidates in the Delta South Senatorial Districts, including his nephew, Mr. Julius Pondi, who emerged as the flag-bearer in Burutu Federal Constituency by dislodging the incumbent, Rt. Hon Franc Enekorogha, a former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.

Ekpemupolo played a role in the emergence of Senator Manager as the party’s candidate for the Delta South Senatorial District. That feat, which was a precursor to the governorship primaries and things to come in the Delta PDP, was not a mean one, considering that the opponent was the sitting governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, an Itsekiri, whose kinsmen considered it their turn to produce the next senator for the district. Uduaghan, who by the party’s structure is the leader of the party in the state, was expected to easily pick the PDP ticket, yet he dramatically bowed out of the race barely 72 hours to the contest. Uduaghan said his decision was to avert a possible bloodbath in the state.

Mr. Sunny Ogefere, media aide to the governor, said his boss “withdrew from the race because of the tension it was already generating. He had to do it to preserve the existing peace in the state and to ensure that the inter-ethnic unity in the state, especially the district, is not jeopardised.”

Although neither Uduaghan nor Ogefere explained what they meant by the threat to “existing peace” , there were hints that Manager’s Ijaw kinsmen in the Warri area planned to unleash mayhem if Manager did not get the party’s ticket. A group, Concerned PDP Members, Kurutie Town, (Tompolo’s hometown) in Gbaramatu Ward, had earlier warned that “the Ijaws will not stop at anything to deliver James Manager to the Nigerian Senate in 2015 general elections.”

Events that later unfolded showed that the threat was potent. It was learnt that at least two weeks before the primaries, a ‘political coup’ took place in the state. Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was stripped of his power as the Chief Security Officer of the state, with the Presidency ensuring that Tompolo had more control of the state’s security apparatus than the governor. It was learnt that the head of security agencies were explicitly ordered to defer to the former warlord if a conflict arose between him and Uduaghan.

Tompolo denied the allegation. Speaking through his media aide, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, Tompolo described the report as “ridiculous and a laughable.”

“The Presidency couldn’t have handed down security apparatus to High Chief Government Ekpemupolo for PDP primaries because he is not a political office holder and at the same time not in the party hierarchy. Rather the Presidency handed the security apparatus to the governor of the state and off course the Chief Security Officer and also the leader of the Party in the state. Tompolo has not and is not in control of security in Nigeria.”

In the same vein, Bebenimibo laughed off the claim that the governor jettisoned his senatorial ambition over threat by the former warlord. “Tompolo cannot threaten the governor of Delta State to drop his senatorial ambition because he wasn’t in the contest with him. He never had any disagreement with the governor on the senatorial contest. It was out of the governor’s volition to participate in the election and at the same time it was his own decision to drop the ambition.

“After all, he (Uduaghan) is not the first person to withdraw from election contest; even my humble self dropped my House of Assembly ambition for others. I didn’t attribute it to any threat from anyone. It doesn’t make sense for anyone to allege that Tompolo threatened a serving governor to drop his ambition.”

Despite the denial, aggrieved officials of the state government who leaked the details of the ‘coup’ to the press,  told our reporter that some Ijaw leaders and kinsmen of the President had convinced him (Jonathan) that his political interest would be best served with the security apparatus of the state in the hands of his kinsmen. A source said the deal was concluded when it emerged that President Jonathan would not be involved in a primary for the Presidential ticket of the party.

A very reliable top security source told our reporter: “The governor could not even guarantee his own security at the PDP primary. His entire security details could have easily been withdrawn from him if there was a conflict or crisis. He would have been left defenseless if he had tried to wield his power as governor or use his executive power.”

Amidst the hazy security state, there were also veritable reports that some aspirants flooded the state with hundreds of cultists and youths who were heavily armed and primed to unleash mayhem in Asaba if the primary did not go their way.

 Hack on Uduaghan’s men

But if the governor and his associates had thought that the conclusion of the primaries would ensure sanity to the party in the state, events preceding the exercises have proven otherwise. It was gathered that the reclusive former militant leader with the active support of Dr Okowa, turned his attention to the winners of the House of Assembly contest, which was conducted when the structure of the party was still in the governor’s hand.

Key supporters of the embattled governor who won and were cleared to contest in the main election were systematically substituted either with those who did not contest or those who had abysmal scores. For instance, in Patani State Constituency, Rt. Hon Basil Ganagana, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly and Uduaghan’s supporter, lost his ticket to Mr. Tonye Timi, who polled a dismal 18 votes against Ganagana’s 31. Ganagana’s opponents said his search for a historical 5th term is morally wrong, even though he won the primary.

In Uvwie, Hon. Efe Ofobruku, who won the primary, was replaced with Mathew Ishekiri, much to the angst of the PDP faithful in the area. Ofobruku’s sin was that he was Uduaghan’s candidate. It was his second shot at the house. Mr. Godwin Abigor, a former member of the governor’s cabinet, who defeated the incumbent Hon. Omawumi Udoh, also lost his ticket. Udoh is on her 16th year in the House, even though she missed most of the sittings of the current term. Abigor’s ticket has since been handed to Udoh.

Also by Thursday, Comrade Izezi, who won the Ughelli South Constituency contest, was in battle to avoid a plot to substitute his name. His was an aide to Uduaghan for several years and is strong supporter of the governor. The fate of Hon. Ossai Ossai in Delta North is similarly hazy, whose candidature was withdrawn by the PDP.

A source in the party said the saving grace for Hon Daniel Mayuku, the member representing Warri South West, was that he was the sole aspirant on the platform of the party for the primary. “He would have been the first target, because of his closeness to the governor and also being an Itsekiri man in Tompolo’s home LGA,” our source added.

Bebenimibo, who was to run against Mayuku said Tompolo had no hand in the substitution. He said, “he cannot substitute names of candidates because he is not an official of the party. I wonder which way he can do that and why anyone that could not get the party ticket accuses Tompolo when he is not in any leadership level in the party.”

How Tompolo stooped to conquer

Our investigation revealed that Tompolo’s present battle stance contrasts starkly with his nature before the October 4 local government election, when he reportedly went cap in hand to the Protea Hotel, Ekpan to beg Uduaghan and other party leaders to let him produce the council chairman of Warri South West.

“At a meeting held at Protea Hotel before the election, he (Tompolo) begged some Itsekiri leaders, including Michael Diden (Ejele), Mayuku, to allow his brother (George) return as PDP flag-bearer when it was evident that he had lost out.”

At the time of the deal, Mr. Bobby Oritseweyinmi Omadeli, an Itsekiri, had picked the PDP ticket and was heading to the chairman of the council. The deal angered Chief Ayirimi Emami, whose name was replaced with George Ekpemupolo – Tompolo’s younger brother. The younger Ekpemupolo won the election intriguingly, even though there is allegation that he did not even buy the ticket for the primary.

 Warri peace deal in the balance

The divisive deal was faulted by prominent Itsekiri leaders and legal practitioners. They slammed PDP’s “lack of internal democracy” and blatant robbery of Omadeli’s mandate. It was learnt that the volte face contravened an agreement reached for the rotation of the position between the two ethnic groups as a part of the deal that ended the Ijaw/Itsekiri crisis in 2004. Having served three-year tenure, Ekpemupolo, an Ijaw, was expected to step aside for an Itsekiri.

That would not be the last time an agreement would be broken.  In the Delta South Senatorial race, James Manager, who picked the ticket for a record fourth tenure, was not ‘qualified’ based on the rotational agreement between the Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri ethnic groups in the south. Senator Stella Omu (an Isoko), served from 1999  2003 and bowed out for James Manager. The latter’s third return was due to a deal struck with the Itsekiri, who had Uduaghan (an Itsekiri man from Abigborodo, Warri North) as governor.

“In line with the agreement, the Itsekiri cannot have a senator and governor at the same time. As a result, Manager was allowed to go back to the Senate, pending the expiration of Uduaghan’s tenure.

But now the Ijaws not only have a senator, they also have the deputy governor while the Isoko and Itsekiri are left with nothing,” an aggrieved PDP stalwart in the area said.