For the past few days, the people of Delta and followers of Delta media and social media pages have been inundated with trending stories about the controversies and discrepancies surrounding the multiple names of Sheriff Oborevwori, speaker of Delta state house of assembly and one of the governorship frontrunners.
Oborevwori is believed to be Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s anointed candidate for the race but there are issues which if not properly handled may rock the party and block the PDP from entering the government house on May 29, 2023. The screening and presentation of clearance certificate for Sheriff has been shrouded with controversies and many have called for the delisting of his name from the list and allow others who are more credible to run to the primaries.
But with the multiple issues raised by discerning Deltans and lawyers who have foreseen the trouble ahead should Oborevwori continue in the race, Okowa is believed to still be forging ahead with his anointed candidate. This he does, downplaying the consequences that may befall his party should the speaker eventually emerge as party candidate for the 2023 governorship polls.
While the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and other PDP members are watching the macabre dance and where it will lead the PDP to, there are fears that the party will be swept off the state if the governor fails to heed the call of reason and send Oborevwori packing.
The major issue at the moment dwells on Oborevwori’s names, his educational qualifications and the dates he obtained the various certificates. Facts emerging from the screening committee reveal that the speaker has allegedly withdrawn the B.Sc certificate and Masters degree, leaving only the WAEC result and the first school leaving certificate. This shows that the Delta governorship aspirant is only presenting WAEC result and first school leaving certificate as qualifying academic credentials to run for office of the governor of Delta state.
However, a careful analysis of the dates of the qualifications, his work experience, one will definitely still fish out some discrepancies in the dates. According to details obtained from Wikipaedia, Oborevwori was born on June 19, 1963. From that date till 2022, Oborevwori is 59 years. He attended Alegbo Primary School, Effurun and got his first school leaving certificate in 1977.
He completed his secondary education at Oghareki Grammar School as he claimed in 1999. He graduated from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma with a bachelor’s degree in 2004 in Political Science. He later proceeded to obtain a master’s degree in the same political science at the Delta state university, Abraka in 2010.
According to Wikipaedia, he began his political career as a grassroot politician, becoming leader of Osubi community in 1996. However, he broke into limelight in 2015 after he was elected as the member representing Okpe state constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly under the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP). This is after 19 years of serving in several key government positions first beginning as a local government councilor in 1996.
Now, here lies another controversy, the school certificate he is parading now indicates that he completed his secondary education at Oghareki Grammar School in 1999. That is 36 years after his birth. That means after completing his primary school in 1977, for the next 17 years Oborevwori did not attend secondary school. He finished primary school in 1977 and may be for ‘critical reasons’ he could not proceed to secondary school until he was 36 years old, 17 years after first school leaving certificate. This is so because since he completed secondary in 1999, it is believed that he started secondary school in 1994, making a total of six years.
Again, one would wonder how he became a councilor in 1996 without a school certificate. This is because he claimed to have graduated from Oghareki Grammar School in 1999. That means prior to 1999 he was only parading a primary school certificate for 36 years. Although some may argue that the present Nigeria constitution was drafted in 1999 which stipulates minimum academic criteria to hold elective positions to be O’Level. One may then ask, does the pre-1999 military government permit non-graduates to run for elective offices?
Another issue worth mentioning, according to Vanguard and Delta government website, is that Oborevwori was the pioneer chairman of Osubi community from 1996 to 2003 where he was said to have contributed tremendously to the development of the community making sure there were peace and security all through his tenure. According to Delta government website, he was given the chieftaincy title of the Ukodo of Okpe kingdom in 2003, by His Royal Majesty, the Orhorho 1, Orodje of Okpe Kingdom.
Now, while anybody can be a community leader without holding any basic academic qualification, it is amazing that Oborevwori was in secondary school while he was chairman of the Osubi community where he was said to have contributed to the development of the community.
This is so because he is said to have graduated from Oghareki Grammar School in 1999, he was councilor in 1996 and was community chairman from 1996 to 2003. This means he was a secondary school student while he was chairman of the Osubi community and at the same time councilor. From this, it means he started his secondary education in 1994 and graduated in 1999.
Now, is it possible for a secondary school student to be a leader of a community while studying his books in preparation for examinations? Are there no more capable hands in that community that a secondary school student was made the chairman of the community, according to the dates available on the web? If his promoters claim some of the dates are wrong, what about the dates in the Delta state government website, is it also wrong?
These issues need to be critically analysed and right decisions taken. These are enough reasons why Governor Okowa needs to think twice before plunging his party into litigations and eventually losing the state to the opposition party. The courts are no friends to any. Even if money could be used to settle some issues, certain issues are too glaring that the courts cannot brush under the carpet and give kangaroo judgment.
