Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, The Political Moses Of Our Time
If God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting beside me. (Mohamed Ali. Quote)
Mohammed Ali must have had Rt. hon. Victor Ochei in mind when he made that quote. Politicians are born they are not made. Their types are not many, these make them ‘one of a kind’. That young Ochei is a political force to reckon with is repeating the obvious. Pa Obafemi Awolowo is often remembered as the best President Nigeria never had. Ochei is the best governor Delta State never had. Unlike pa Obafemi Awolowo, Ochei is destined to be the governor of Delta State one day. As we go through this political transformation, change is inevitable. Change we are in.
Political career acceleration in this our new political dawn is possible for political competent folks. Ochei's competence, patriotism, sincerity and political will are factors that would cement his political journey. Ochei's entry to APC I am sure is a concern for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa led PDP government of Delta State. If there is one person that you do not want to contest election against it is Ochei. He's the maverick of Delta State politics. His peers know this. Ochei has only lost one election in his political career. This only loss came in the last gubernatorial primary election. Despite the gang up against him, Ochei took on the mighty machinery of Delta State PDP government in the last gubernatorial primary election. He came out a respectable 3rd position in that election. Delta North senatorial zone should remain ever grateful to young Ochei, 185 delegate's votes secured by Ochei made it possible for his Excellency Ifeanyi Okowa to be victorious in the gubernatorial primary election and thus to become the governor of Delta State.
Had Ochei not secured this number of delegates' votes, those delegates' votes would most likely have gone to David Edevbie. David scored a total of 299 delegate's votes in the gubernatorial primary election. David was the anointed candidate that the past Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan tried to sneak in through the back door in the 11th hour. David Edevbie was a last minute joker. Last minute replacement for Mr. Anthony Obuh. Unfortunately there was not enough time to perfect the gubernatorial primary coup that would have seen David emerge. Victory for David would have meant victory for Delta Central. We remember how Mr. Anthony Obuh was considered the front runner for the gubernatorial primary at one point. There was Obuh fever all around town then. Some argued that Obuh was never a serious gubernatorial contender but a pretender. They flew him like a kite. More like abracadabra in the magic world. Obuh' emergence then exposed some of our politically unstable characters in Anioma. We saw how some people who are today singing Okowa, Okowa, Okowa quickly switched to Obuh. They were Obuh drunk. They canvassed for Obuh. We know who they are.
A bit of political arithmetic; David Edevbie vote of 299 if added to Ochei vote of 185 would have given David the victory. David would have gotten a total vote of 484 votes. Enough votes to dislodge Okowa's vote of 406. The Anioma agenda would never have come to fruition. Upon further analysis of the vote you would find out that the remaining gubernatorial candidates votes all combined were not anywhere near Ochei's vote. This shows that he is miles apart from his political peers. Young Ochei accepted the result in good faith. Ochei's Senate election was a fraud. They stole his mandate. This people of Delta North know this. That election result ranks as one of the most fraudulent election results of all time. There was no election in Delta State as far as Delta North Senate election was concerned. I make bold to say that Ifeanyi Okowa without doubt won the governorship election. The same can never be said about Delta North Senate election. Ochei who is also known as Olikeze is the political Moses of our time. If there is a Delta politician that would lead us into our promise land, it is Ochei. Ochei's romance with APC is a good thing for our democracy. It will give our people choice should he decide to contest in the governorship election in 2019 under APC.
Competition they say is healthy. Ochei is one man that means well for his people. He is pregnant with robust ideas that would propel Delta State to her rightful height. Young Ochei is a technocrat. Power they say belongs to God. Who would have told President Buhari that one day he will be the president of Nigeria again. He did not give up after many attempts. President Buhari had a contract with destiny. Ochei has a contract with destiny. Had president Buhari given up on his goal he probably won’t be here today. Determined individuals never give up on their goal. Rt Hon. Victor Ochei;s time will come. I have no doubt in my mind. What we want for Delta State is excellent leadership. I humbly urge Deltan’s not to relent in their effort to ensure that we give Delta State what it deserves.
Written by Charles Snr. Chukwuedo.