Uduaghan, Okowa draw battle line over 2019, trade fiery words

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- Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past governor of Delta state, has accused his successor of being on a vindictive mission against him

- In response to the accusations, however, the Delta state chapter of the PDP described Uduaghan as a “less than a featherweight politician” in the state

- The PDP further described Uduaghan as a drowning man clutching at every available straw; and vowed to finish him off politically in 2019

Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past governor of Delta state, has accused his successor, Ifeanyi Okowa, of being vindictive and working to destroy his legacy.

In a statement released by his media aide, Monoyo Edon, on Monday, September 3, the former governor warned Deltans against re-electing Okowa for a second term in 2019, Punch reports.

According to Edon, Uduaghan, made the comments while addressing a crowd of his supporters at Olomoro, Isoko south local government area of the state.

NAIJ.com gathers that the former governor stated that he wanted to liberate Deltans from the Okowa-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state, and that was why he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said: “Uduaghan revealed that all the things he left for the people to enjoy have been bulldozed by the leadership of the state on a vindictive mission to wipe off his legacies from the state; but just like the biblical Moses, he had pitched tent with the ruling party to liberate Delta State from the jaws of the PDP.

“Moses grew up in the palace where everything was comfortable for him but the Lord told him that his people were suffering. He charged Moses to leave the palace so as to liberate them.”

Uduayghan was further quoted to have said: “I have answered the call to return to active politics to liberate and unite our people who have been deeply polarised by the leadership of the PDP. I have come for the APC to take over and I am leading the Take-over Squad.”

In response however, the Delta state chapter of the PDP described Uduaghan as a “less than a featherweight politician” in the state.

The PDP publicity secretary in Delta state, Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza, further boasted that the party would send the former governor to his final political oblivion in 2019.

He said, “The boast by Uduaghan is completely laughable and further proof that the former governor still has not learnt any political lesson from the humiliating defeat he suffered at the hands of then Senator Ifeanyi Okowa at the PDP primaries in 2014, when he (Uduaghan) used the full apparatus of the state to sponsor and support another candidate.

“As governor, Dr Okowa has endeared himself to the majority of Deltans with his stellar achievements in all sectors of the economy. They cannot wait to re-elect him come 2019.

“When it comes to politics and elections in Delta state, Dr Uduaghan should realise that he is less than a featherweight. Does he even know how he became governor in the first place? In 2019, we shall ensure that he is exiled into political oblivion once and for all.”

He described Uduaghan’s assertion that the PDP never protected its own as the ranting of a drowning man clutching at every available straw.

He continued: “Governor Uduaghan was actually referring to himself when he made that statement. This was exactly what he did when he was the leader of the party as the governor.

“Out of sheer arrogance and vaulting ambition, he estranged many PDP members with his bad leadership style and worked hard to frustrate and impoverish many of them.

“It was part of his treacherous plan to undermine and usurp the position of our political leader, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, and create his own political empire.

“Dr Uduaghan left behind a party that was fractured and near disintegration. But thank God that under Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP in Delta state has regained its status as a united, cohesive and formidable force.”

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Meanwhile,NAIJ.com previously reported that Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta state, revealed that he is undeterred by the defection of his predecessor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, stating that the latter’s defection won't affect his re-election bid for 2019.

Uduaghan, had defected from the PDP, raising concern that some political bigwigs including the sitting governor may consequently be affected by the development.

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