By Pius Mordi

A titanic battle is unfolding in Delta State as two heavy weight politicians begin a no-holds-barred jostle to clinch the senatorial ticket for Delta North.
Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and Ned Munir Nwoko are prominent sons of Delta North senatorial zone, home to Anioma nation.

One, a former senator and ex-governor of the state, wants to return to the red chamber he left in 2015 to become governor.

The other, Nwoko, is the incumbent having moved in when Okowa had an unsuccessful bid to be vice president as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2023.

To give the contest an even unpredictable flavour, Okowa and Ned might be joined by Victor Ochei, a younger but ebullient politician that had an eventful time as Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly.

The problem is that the winner of the first round will not be determined by Anioma voters as they all belong to the same All Progressives Congress (APC). Party leaders in Delta and Abuja, the federal capital are to determine who gets the ticket through a process that they call primaries.

Of the three, Ochei was the first to pitch his tent with the APC after a failed governorship bid in 2015 when he lost in the primary of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Okowa.

Having fallen out with not just Okowa, but also the PDP, Ochei moved to APC where he landed a plum appointment with the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Service.

After losing his bid to be vice president, Okowa ensured his preferred successor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, was elected. But he never left the scene. He remained almost the sole power broker in Delta North,.

The former Governor’s protege obliged him with the control of the political structure of Delta North, especially during the last local government elections where “Okowa’s boys” reportedly swept all the elective positions in the nine local government areas of the senatorial zone.

Okowa’s said dominance was said to have unsettled Nwoko as the seating senator, prompting the latter to dump the PDP and pitch tent with the APC.

But fate had the decisive and final say. In the political realignment that saw Oborevwori becoming one of the first opposition governors to join President Bola Tinubu in his emerging strategy of wooing state governors to the APC in his grand scheme to secure a second term bid.

All three gladiators for the senatorial contest are now locked in the same ring provided by the APC. But Delta North may be the theatre for the fiercest and most unpredictable senatorial contest in the state.

The probable jettisoning of direct primaries in favour of the consensus arrangement will definitely give a wide latitude and influence to powerful forces beyond Delta State, undoubtedly the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Invariably, the critical factor may boil down to who has greater support in Aso Rock. Political watchers are of the view that if it was up to Governor Oborevwori alone, Okowa would have a smooth ride to the ticket.

“But in tying the political knot with Tinubu, Oborevwori, just like every other joiner in APC, may cede the power for the final call to Aso Rock and its preferences”, a top member of Delta APC who preferred not to be named told Sunday Southerner.

“The governor alone cannot take the decision on who will fly the senatorial flag. For now, we don’t know what Aso Rock is thinking”, the bigwig added.

“I don’t envy Delta North people in this dilemma. Of the three zones in Delta, that of the North is, no doubt, the most contentious and difficult to call”, opined a political leader from Delta Central senatorial zone.

Continuing, the source from Delta Central said: “The fact that Okowa is the main facilitator in Oborevwori’s emergence as Governor cannot be ignored. But having handed over the political structure in Delta to Tinubu, he conceded the power to make the final call to Aso Rock”.

In the event of President Tinubu having the final call for Delta North, political watchers are not unanimous on who will get the nod. But they agree that the perception of the Villa on the role played by each aspirant in the course of the 2023 presidential election as well as the dynamics of the 2027 polls may weigh heavily.

Okowa and Nwoko are seen as the main gladiators with Ochei, if he heeds the call of some groups to throw his hat into ring, capable of being the sub-text as a compromise choice.

“This is the factor that may count for Ochei. I don’t see Nwoko conceding to Okowa and I dare say that feeling is mutual between them” a top Anioma politician insisted.

However Okowa seemed to have seized the moment, galvanizing royal fathers and top key players from the zone to endorse his candidacy. He reportedly has the APC structure in Delta North firmly under his control.

But Nwoko is said to have powerful forces in Abuja rooting for his candidacy. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, at the last South South Congress of the APC made a veiled reference to his support for Ned.

Akpabio spoke glowingly of Nwoko’s campaign for the creation of Anioma State, a proposal which he told the audience was topmost on the mind of President Tinubu. He did not also hide the fact that the regalia worn to the event was at the instance of Ned.

No doubt, the race for the Delta North senatorial seat remains hazy as there’s no guarantee of which way the pendulum will swing.

Will it be Okowa who has agreed to champion for the creation of Anioma State, or Senator Nwoko who provided the fuel for the recent agitation for its creation? Or would Ochei truly become a compromise candidate? Time will tell.