EVEN before the sounding of the bugle for the formal
commencement of the 2015 Delta State governorship race, the ambition of former
Speaker Victor Onyekachi Ochei, one of the frontrunners may have gone with the
wind if the events surrounding his recent removal from the number three
position in the state are of consequence.
When members of the Delta State House of
Assembly convened in the state capital of Asaba last Tuesday March 18, it was
quite obvious that it was game over for Ochei’s almost three years stint as
Speaker.
Although the legislators had accused Ochei of
high-handedness and not being transparent in the handling of the affairs of the
House, especially in the spending of money and execution of capital projects,
but a close source begged to sharply differ.
He said that the move, which smacked of a simple
case of giving a dog a bad name in a desperate bid to march it to the gallows,
might have had the blessings of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Leadership of the party, which include the state chairman, chief Peter
Nwaoboshi, pioneer Speaker of the House and special adviser to Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan on Legislative Matters, Mr. Emmanuel Okoro, former deputy
Speaker and currently commissioner for works, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon, as well as
the senior political adviser to the governor, chief Ighoyota Amori and a host
others were present at the chambers to witness the democratic drama.
The source solemnly swore that plot to remove the
former Speaker, may also not be unconnected with his governorship ambition for
2015, as the removal may have been aimed at whittling his influence.
He said: “The strategy is a total deconstruction
of Ochei. Once he is removed as Speaker and becomes an ordinary legislator,
then it will be very difficult for him to carry on with his governorship
campaign. It is an attempt to whittle down his advantage over the other
aspirants.”
He said that some of the former Speaker’s
political foes seemed to be very uncomfortable with his intimidating profile as
Speaker, which they feared could give him advantage when the PDP begins to shop
for a governorship candidate.
The source also dismissed other allegations,
including Ochei’s secret romancing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with
a view to picking the main opposition party’s governorship ticket should his
ambition under the PDP not fall through.
Faced with a fait accompli as about 27 out of the
29 member House had reportedly signed the impeachment notice, the Onicha Olona,
Aniocha North Council born Speaker had no alternative but to throw in the towel
to prevent what would have been a disgraceful end.
Without much ado, Ochei announced his intention to
quit, giving his personal resolve to pave way for a new leadership in a letter
dated March 18, 2014 and addressed to deputy Speaker Basil Ganagana, which he
promptly read out on the floor.
A subdued Ochei, who was unanimously elected as
the Speaker of the fifth session of the House on June 7, 2011 hoped that the
new leadership would take the state and the House to a higher level.
The former Speaker wrote: “I wish to thank all
those, numerous and many who made my tour of duty a pleasant affair further. To
you my esteemed colleagues, I remained grateful for your love and camaraderie
we shared while it lasted.”
Mr. Peter Onwusanya (Oshimili South) was
elected the new Speaker.
Like a gripping melodrama, news of the
ex-Speaker’s resignation had filtered into town during the weekend before his
resignation. In fact, Ochei was expected to call it quits on Monday March 17,
but for the fact that the House does not normally sit on Mondays. Not one to
give in easily, the embattled lawmaker was said to have made a last minute
contact with the political juggernauts in a determined bid to save his job, but
when the legislators sat on that fateful Tuesday, it was obvious going by the
mood of his fellow lawmakers that the engineer cum politician had reached the
end of the road.
Even though Ochei was with Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan the day before during the governor’s signing of the 2014 budget, it
was quite obvious that his time was up as his aides had reportedly packed his
things and theirs out of the offices at the Assembly complex.
With the noticeable absence of Ochei at the
plenary session, which lasted about 45 minutes, Ganagana, who took charge
before the emergence of Onwusanya promptly declared the exalted seat vacant,
while the deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Johnson Erijo (Isoko South II) proceeded
to nominate Onwusanya as Speaker and was seconded by former Speaker Sam Obi
(Ika North East).
As events unraveled in the chambers, there was a
heavy presence of security operatives outside the sprawling complex on Okpanam
Road, apparently to pre-empt any security breach as a result of wide
speculation that the faithful followers of the former Speaker may cause
trouble.
There was strict restriction of movement in
and out of the premises, while visitors, including journalists were thoroughly
frisked before been admitted into the chambers.
Not one to shy away from controversy,
foremost Ijaw leader, chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark had gone on the offensive last
year when he openly chided the ex-Speaker, whose company Davnotch handles the
state’s Independent Power Plant (IPP) project at Oghara, of swindling the state
of a whooping N27 billion.
And for that stinging allegation, Clark had warned
Ochei not to join the governorship race in 2015 until he succeeds in washing
his hands clean from what he insisted was a colossal fraud.
The former Speaker took time to deny
involvement in any corrupt activities, saying that the fact of the matter will
soon come to the open.
He referred to Clark affectionately as “his
elder statesman,” insisting that he was no longer involved in the project
execution but conceded that he once had “interest” in the firm constructing the
plant and was sure that the project had reached its advance stage.
Ochei said that it was not true that the project
site had been abandoned, overgrown with weeds and with nothing on ground to
show for the huge money expended so far on it.
According to him, the missing N27 billion was
concocted to discredit Uduaghan, whose blueprint for the development of the
state had impacted positively on the people of the state.
He added: “It takes a lot of time, resources and
energy to complete. By the time the project comes on stream, the fact will
speak for itself.”
He said time would vindicate him on whether he
actually embezzled the IPP money, saying; “people should not expect a project
of such magnitude which should not be politicized to be completed within a
short space.”
Ochei was no doubt on a collision course with Mrs.
Nkem Okwuofu, the chairman of the Delta State Local Government Commission on
November 3, when he pointedly accused her of having a hand in an assassination
plot at rustic Obomkpa, Aniocha North Local Council of the state. Both belong
to the PDP and are from the same local council.
The root of the acrimony could be traced to a
routine familiarization and thank-you tour by Ochei to his home constituency.
He had just arrived at the venue of the ceremony and was busy pumping hands
with some political faithful at the Eke Market Square when a big bang was heard
and its attendant smoke from behind threw the crowd into pandemonium. There was
a bedlam as people ran helter-skelter
Ochei was however saved by divine intervention
when the cannon which reportedly flew towards the direction of the Speaker’s
seat on the front row, was however blocked by the rows of carefully arranged
chairs.
When the dust cleared, a young lady was however
writhing in deep agony, as her bones were broken. Miss Perpetual Damasus was
not as lucky as the lethal Improvised Explosive Device (IED) critically injured
her. She was placed on admission at the Delta State University Teaching
Hospital, Oghara where she was rushed for treatment by a team of orthopedic
surgeons.
When he set out on that sunny Friday afternoon of
November 3, to Obomkpa, garnering support for his governorship ambition in 2015
was actually at the heart of the tour. He never bargained for the big bang
considering the fact that Obomkpa and Onicha Olona, Ochei’s hometown are part
of Ezechima clan with a common ancestry.
He had expected the community to welcome him with
open hands, being one of them, but the explosion which he firmly believed was
an attempt to assassinate him was like a hit from behind and so couldn’t just
let the matter lie low. It couldn’t have been an accidental cannon discharge.
He reasoned that some sinister local politicians who didn’t wish him well
probably had a hand in the deed.
The firing of ceremonial cannons during burials,
political rallies, festivals, birthdays of important dignitaries and other
important occasions are common occurrences in the southern part of the country,
but they are always far way from the scene of the ceremonies.
Curiously, the cannon blast at Obomkpa was just a
few metres away from the venue of the rally. Determined to get to the root of
the explosion, the police quizzed a prominent female politician from the
village, Mrs. Okwuofu.
Three days after the blast, Mrs. Okwuofu was
detained at the State Police headquarters in Asaba on November 6, for several
hours and later granted bail on self-recognition after the police obtained her
statement over her alleged role in the blast.
Mrs. Okwuofu reasoned that her problem with Ochei
had to do with her perceived support for Senator Ifeanyi Okowa in the 2015
governorship race, a position which runs contrary to the ambition of Ochei, who
was also warming up.
She vehemently denied supporting Okowa, insisting
that both the Senator and the Speaker are his political children and that it
was even premature to start campaign, considering the fact that 2015 was still
some light political years away.
Mrs. Okwuofu, a former commissioner of Culture and
Tourism had told reporters shortly after she was released that she was not at
the venue of the rally where the blast took place and so couldn’t have a hand
in the blast which severely injured one person.
The lady politician said that as a matter of fact
she doesn’t support any aspirant as she is a “Mother of Government” and had had
cause to tell anybody who cared to listen that she was neutral and ready to
support anybody from Anioma who clinched the party’s ticket in the forthcoming
governorship election. As an apostle of power shift, her only concern was an
Anioma governor. It doesn’t matter where the governor comes from in Aniomaland.
She said: “I was not at the venue of the
blast. I only heard that it was a cannon blast. I was invited by the police,
which accused me of attempted murder. The violence being perpetrated by Boko
Haram has not reached Obomkpa and I pray it will not get there.”
It is still hazy where Ochei goes from here in
2015, considering that the three-time lawmaker is not keen on going back to the
House in Asaba. One may not be too far from the truth to conclude that his
governorship ambition crashed even before it took off. He seems to be the first
casualty of the race to Government House, Asaba.
Source:
Guardian
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