Following disagreements between him and the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, over his ambition to represent Delta South senatorial district in the National Assembly, former state Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was gathered through a source close to the former governor who pleaded anonymity on Tuesday that Uduaghan is angry with the governor over his insistence to honour an agreement between PDP governors and the party to ensure the mass endorsement and return of all National Assembly members elected under the party.
Uduaghan, according to the source, is unhappy with the decision which would secure an unprecedented fifth term for Senator James Manager to the chagrin of other stakeholders in the district who feel he should allow others take their turn.
The source disclosed that the Delta South district is made up of the Ijaw, Isoko and the Itsekiri ethnic nationalities, who have been rotating the slot among them following a gentleman's agreement.
However, following the election of Manager in 2003, the agreement was jettisoned and he has held the position for four consecutive tenures and already angling for a fifth term.
It was also gathered that Uduaghan and Okowa have not been close to each other following the refusal of the former governor to endorse Okowa for the Delta State governorship in 2015, a situation that generated bad blood between them.
It was gathered that this was the reason why Uduaghan has no single representation among the over 1500 political appointees in Okowa's government.
"In fact, he had no knowledge with how his brother was appointed as a commissioner," the source hinted
confirming the cold war was pushing the former governor out of the PDP.
A source in Okowa's office however said Uduaghan's action is not unexpected as he had been "one leg in, one leg out in the party for some time."
He disclosed that the reason for the former governor's anger with the governor was because Okowa has refused to endorse him for the senatorial sit contrary to the practice in the party.
He stressed that the demand by Uduaghan to avoid primaries by seeking the governor's endorsement is unrealistic as the move may offend the people who assisted Okowa to power.
On the report that former Governor James Ibori is aggrieved with Okowa and is also contemplating leaving the PDP, the source said this is not true as both the governor and Ibori are in good terms. He insisted that Ibori is particularly close to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar who is running for the president under the PDP, hence, leaving the PDP is not in Ibori's agenda.
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