Posted by By Austin Ogwuda on
GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State, has held a closed-door meeting with aspirants from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) jostling to become governor in 2007, admonishing them against heating up the polity.
Asaba - GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State, has held a closed-door meeting with aspirants from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) jostling to become governor in 2007, admonishing them against heating up the polity.
Other political parties have remained docile and are yet to produce a governorship aspirant in the state.
Vanguard reliably gathered that the governor met with the aspirants from the three senatorial districts of the state in his home town, Oghara, for hours on Sunday night with the meeting dragging to around 4:00am on Monday.
At the Sunday meeting, the governor was said to have been furious with the report by some aspirants from Delta North who complained about the purported selection of his deputy, Chief Benjamin Elue, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and Dr. Ronald Eyime as consensus candidates from the district under a kangaroo arrangement.
At that stage, the governor was said to have asked his Deputy, Chief Elue and the two others mentioned to apologize to their fellow aspirants from the district which was said to have been complied with.
The governor, had during his previous meeting with the aspirants directed them to go back and trim down the number of aspirants to three from each of the three senatorial districts, which would then be presentented to him for further trimming.
Meanwhile, a one-time Chairman of Oshimili North Local Government, Mr. Ben Okonkwo, has joined the governorship race.
Declaring his intention to run for the race at a press conference in Asaba yesterday, Okonkwo said 'I am joining the race in response to a divine call and to fulfill the yearnings and aspirations of the numerous Deltans who have been urging me to join the race", adding that he is eminently qualified to become the next governor of the state after Governor James Ibori.
With Okonkwo's entry to the race, there are now over 28 aspirants, although few of them are yet to come out publicly.