For the past 20 years, Great Ovedje Ogboru, the Delta state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has been in the gubernatorial race in Delta state. Available reports revealed that Ogboru began the race in 2003 under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, AD. Alliance for Democracy was the leading political party then in Lagos, the powerhouse of South western Nigeria and in most parts of the Yoruba states. In the election, Ogboru lost to PDP’s James Ibori who was then the incumbent governor of the state.
He contested again in 2007 under the platform of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP). Again, he failed woefully and was roundly defeated by Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who took over the governorship from James Onanefe Ibori after serving two terms in the state. In 2010, Ogboru also contested against Uduaghan who was of PDP and lost. He took Uduaghan to court and Uduaghan was removed from office. Both of them went for a re-run in 2011 and Ogboru, again, was defeated. He contested under the DPP.
Again, in 2015, Great Ogboru defected to the Labour Party and contested for the governorship of the state. In the election, he was roundly defeated by the incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. While he lost, his Delta central senatorial candidate of the same Labour Party, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, though lost at the election, he defeated Senator Ighoyota Amori of the PDP at the court and took over the senatorial office of the district. Omo-Agege later defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress APC where he became deputy senate president in 2019.
Ogboru, having lost at the 2015 elections, he defected again to the APC in 2019 and ran for the governorship of the state. Unfortunately for him, he lost again to Okowa who was then contesting for his second term in office. Between 2015 and 2019, the governorship had rotated back to Delta North, one of the developments that worked against him in the race. In all these failures, he had always approached the tribunal but had never succeeded through the courts.
And now in 2023, Great Ovedje Ogboru, who was born, according to wikipedia, on April 10, 1958, has defected to the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA and is gunning for the Delta government house. This 2023 governorship election will be the seventh in the series of governorship elections that Ogboru will be contesting in Delta state. Although one can see his doggedness and perseverance in his pursuit, the people of Delta state have branded him a serial failure in the battle to clinch the number one office in the state.
But one thing in this 2023 election is that the party under which Ogboru is contesting is alien to Delta state. Nobody has contested and won any election under the APGA in Delta. The party is only known to have gotten root and succeeded in Anambra the only state where it is standing among the five South eastern states of the country. Though founded by Odumegwu Ojukwu as the party for the eastern states, it has lost its hold on the eastern states. It’s only standing in Anambra being the home state of the founder, the then leader of the Igbo race.
And now the party that has lost relevance among its founders is the party through which Ogboru intends to win the 2023 governorship election in Delta. While Ogboru made official declaration for the governorship, he has never held any campaign rally either in his village or his Ethiope east local government area of Delta state.
While one cannot tell the reason behind his continuous failed attempts in all the previous six elections, he has been branded a serial failure by the people of Delta state. This is one of the biggest awards he has gotten from the people of the state. One fact about Ogboru is that at the end of every failed attempts, he runs away and returns at the beginning of another election.
Again, Ogboru had always contested the election either on the wrong party or against the governorship zoning principles. In 2003, he ran under AD, a party alien to Delta state. Between 2007 and 2011, he ran under DPP, a party with no root in Delta state and against the zoning arrangement of the state. In 2015, he contested under Labour Party, one of the weakest parties then and still against the zoning arrangement. In 2019, he contested under APC, still against the zoning system. While his 2023 contest follows the zoning pattern, the powerlessness of his party has zeroed him off the race.
As it is now, there are three principal contenders in the race, Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi of the Social Democratic Party SDP, Ovie Omo-Agege of the All Progressives Congress APC and Sheriff Oborevwori of the People’s Democratic Party PDP. But with a careful analysis of these three candidates, one will observe that the best and most suitable candidate for this job is Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi of the SDP.
The facts are clear. Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi has the cleanest political record among the three personalities in the race. He is an incorruptible man going by his public records. Available details reveal that no trace of corruption has been discovered in his service either in the public or private service. He is a known prudent financial manager. He has a wide range of business ideas which he can harness to boost the economy of the state.
Gbagi is one of the most disciplined individual one can ever imagine. His disciplined lifestyle has made people brand him a hard man. Yes, one must have some level of discipline to achieve certain personal and business goals in life. He is a man of probity, integrity and accountability. Whatever goals he aims to pursue, he dwells on it and ensure it is concluded. He can never commence any project and not see to its end.
Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi has great business acumen that, if deployed, could elevate the state out of poverty and create great job opportunities for all residents of the state. Gbagi has consistently spoken of how he could harness business opportunities in every local for the benefit of the people. He has said that with his business ideas, he could make each local government have some level of independence in terms of raising funds for their administration.
Among the three contenders, Gbagi remains the most sought after in terms of business ideas, creative thinking and transforming the ideas into concrete realities. If the people of Delta state are wise or they need a departure from the old way of doing things to a more effective ones, Gbagi is the man to mount the office of the governor. The decision rests in the hands of Deltans.
