Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Delta has, in this interview, revealed how Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state begged him at his country home to bring the Urhobos to support him when he was rejected by people of Delta central. The interview was anchored by Emerald News crew, AUSTIN OYIBODE (Editor) and DORCAS IZAH (Staff Writer).
Excerpts:
Are you ready for a debate with other governorship candidates if it’s called?
In fact, if you call the debate this night, I’m ready. Everything I want to do in Delta, I knew them 25/30 years ago. I have planned them out. I have done my surveys, I’ve brought foreigners to this country to do surveys.
For instance, I said I want to build the bridge to Burutu, that bridge will cost me 664 million USD. I have done the calculation, they’ve given me the survey, the plans, the cost, they know what they are doing. I know how long it’s going to take me to build that bridge. Everything in Delta, I know it off hand. Let them come for a debate, I’m very ready.
Since 2019 after the swearing in of the outgoing governor, you came in as the first aspirant as at that time under PDP, and despite the noise and criticism, you have kept on going. What has been keeping you going?
The power of God and nothing more has been keeping me going. If I had listened to what people say, I would have run away from the country, but because what people say makes no meaning to me. I have never looked back, I know my destination and you’ll be there on my swearing in day.
When it became obvious that Okowa had decided to behave the way he has behaved, to jettison the promise he made, not me asking him to make promise to me. Okowa was the one who asked me and the funny thing is that there are people in evidence who knew that he did all of those things.
But again I respect his power of decision, that’s his decision. But his decision has nothing to do with me and my God. I know where I’m heading. Okowa came to this my country home in Oginibo when he was rejected across the whole of Delta central. He came to this house to beg me to bring Urhobos to support him, and everybody knew what I did.
God enabled me to do it and that’s why I did it. What I’m saying is that on the last day, five of us, myself and Okowa, a member of my family, his prophet and his best friend, Lawrence, we sat down and when he told me that Jesus Christ or men of God told him that he should take Sherrif and that if these same men of God had told him to pick me, he would have been happier, it would have been easier for him and it would have been a win win situation for him.
I said to him, as we attempted exchanging words, ‘Doctor, go and mark this day, you will hand over to me on May 29, 2023’, and his prophet shouted ‘amen’. We stood up, hugged ourselves and I told him, ‘go and sleep and behave yourself’. He told me to go and sleep and think again. That is how we parted ways till today.
So what I’m trying to say in effect is that I took one of the best decisions I ever took as an adult, and that is the decision to go into SDP as a governorship candidate when the interplay of dubiousness, lack of character took place, I moved to SDP and I’m so happy I did.
Without wanting to embarrass the man, a man of God had told me earlier on that I should leave the PDP and join another party and I asked the man of God, Okowa is my brother, that is unthinkable, and he said ‘my friend, are you a politician? I said go and take another party and leave PDP for Okowa’. It so happened that that man was spiritually ahead of me. That man is responsible today for why I did not commit suicide.
And I jokingly told Okowa one day, ‘you told me so many times before that you’ll hand over to me, nobody can challenge you, nobody can do this or that’, I said ‘I hope you’re not deceiving me and that you don’t want me to commit suicide’, He said ‘No’.
Like I’ve said the man has his destination to clear himself with God. So I’m telling you that I’m extremely pleased, I’m happy I did what I did, I’m happy I’m in the SDP. It was the party that the first Urhobo patriot, Olorogun Felix Ibru, came through to become governor and till date nobody has accused him of any corrupt practices.
Felix and myself are very close. And you will recall that it was the senior brother of Felix, Michael Ibru, who is the first Nigerian richer than me obviously, that I respect, that is blemishless as me that I believe is selfless.
When I was going to try this whole governorship thing as an aspirant, don’t forget that I’ve never been a governorship candidate before in my life, this is the first time. I went to him for prayers when I was doing consultation. He is a great patriot. He prayed for me, removed the cap he was wearing on his head and wore it on me. Until I leave this planet earth, apart from my father who is my idol, my second idol is Michael Ibru.
MORE TO COME…
