Foremost governorship aspirant in Delta, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi on Wednesday visited the state secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to consult the party leadership on his aspiration to run for the office of the governor in the 2023 general elections.
Gbagi, an industrialist and entrepreneur of repute, visited with a retinue of supporters who added colour and glamour to the visit, a development which elicited the environment and drove home the message of a man who is bent on transforming the fortune of the people of Delta state.
In a message to the party leadership, Olorogun Gbagi expressed delight at the transformation of the party secretariat, a feat achieved in the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and state party chairman, Olorogun Kingsley Esiso
“As I was entering the hall there was tears in my eyes. Last time I said if PDP is not reformed I will not come again but now I see that the party leadership has transformed the secretariat,” Gbagi said.
He took the chairman and his executive members to history to explain how the party was formed and established in Delta between 1998 and 1999 when Chief James Onanefe Ibori emerged governor. He told the chairman that despite the ups and downs in the party, he had remained a faithful and loyal party man.
He told the state chairman that there’s a big task ahead of him as the party gears up to elect the next candidate to represent the party in the 2023 governorship race.
He noted that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has performed well and will be leaving a legacy of a great achiever but a man of repute, an industrialist, a visioner is needed to be elected to continue from where Okowa would stop.
He said: “There are my younger brothers coming to contest the election, you need to bring in the best, a man with a clean record, a man with the requisite blue-print to move the state to the next level. I have come to say I’m contesting the election come 2023.
“All I ask for is equity. We know what four or five years can do to a state. We have all seen what APC has done to our nation. We cannot afford to make such mistake in Delta. I do not know of any APC led state that is doing more than what Okowa is doing in this state. Okowa has conscience, he has character. He has done excellently well.
“In the 2023 election, we want men and women who have created employment to the extent that by the mere mention of their names they are recognised and people thumb up for them. I have what it takes to run the state in a way that every Deltan will benefit and all residents of the state.
“Delta needs names you can be proud of. We need somebody who will not deceive us to take the state to the next level. Governor Okowa has made the roads in the state, the next is industrialisation and we are set for that.
“My first programme is to remove youths from the streets of Delta state. We can turn the state to an industrial hub. I dont need a new house in Abuja, Lagos or London.”
Delta state PDP chairman, Olorogun Kingsley Esiso, in his response, said as at today the PDP is on a rescue mission in Nigeria. He said the party is on a mission to rescue Nigeria from terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other socio-economic challenges in the nation.
He said the tenure of Governor Okowa is gradually coming to a close, hence it becomes imperative for people to contest to take over from him. He blasted deputy senate President, Omo-Agege over his comments on the achievement of Okowa in the state.
Esiso said as the time draws near for Okowa to leave office, many Deltans are gearing up to contest for the office of the governor. He added that aspiration is free, and that every bonafide Deltan has right to contest for the number one office in the state.
He said: “Everybody is free to contest. It is open. A lot of qualified, very competent PDP members are coming out to contest the election. Everyone has tight to run for the governorship. They should all go to the field and try their popularity.
“In the exco, we are neutral. We dont have support to give to any aspirant. It is our responsibility to give platforms to all aspirants to contest. It is when a candidate has emerged that we ensure he becomes governor.
Nobody can stop you from contesting for the office of the governor. At the party, we dont have authority to screen aspirants. But at the appropriate time, the national headquarters will screen aspirants. However, it is when you have bought expression of interest form that we recognise you as an aspirant.”
