Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan
Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was sacked as the governor of Delta State by the Court of Appeal in Benin on November 9, 2010, may walk a tightrope in the rerun election ordered in the state by the appellate court.
An investigation by SATURDAY PUNCH showed that the governor’s visit to Abuja last week did not yield the assurances he expected from the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and even the Presidency.
It was gathered that President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP National Working Committee members had given the assurance to the ousted governor that he remained the party’s candidate, who had their natural support.
But Jonathan’s declaration of support for Uduaghan was said to have been followed with a proviso that he was committed to giving Nigeria free, fair and credible elections in 2011.
Uduaghan was said to have been advised to take advantage of his three-year rule in Delta to embark on a vigorous campaign to get the votes of the people as the most credible means of recapturing the Delta Government House.
The decision of the PDP leadership was echoed by the national chairman of the party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, in an interview on Channels TV programme, Sunrise Daily, where he said that Jonathan would not rig an election for anybody.
Nwodo said that the appointments made by the President into the Independent National Electoral Commission and the character of the chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, showed clearly that Jonathan was not a desperate politician, who would rig elections in the country.
He said that as the chairman of the PDP, he would not rig elections for anybody.
SATURDAY PUNCH investigation showed that Uduaghan was among the governors who did not support Jonathan during the constitution crisis in the run-up to the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua last May.
It was learnt that after Jonathan had been made the President of the country, Uduaghan did not change his opposition to the President in his bid for election in 2011.
The ousted Delta governor was said to have given a condition before Jonathan would earn his support when the President sought his cooperation on the 2011 election as one of the governors from his geopolitical zone.
A source, who did not want to be mentioned, said that Uduaghan had told Jonathan that he would support him only if he (the President) prevailed on the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, to drop his governorship ambition in Delta State.
Orubebe, one of the closest ministers to the President, was widely believed to have indicated discreet interest to contest the governorship of Delta State in 2011.
Two months ago, an aide of Orubebe had told this correspondent that his boss‘ governorship ambition had been suspended because of a presidential directive to that effect.
The aide did not state the reason for the directive, which he said did not go down well with the minister.
However, SATURDAY PUNCH gathered on Friday that Orubebe’s intention to run for the governorship of Delta State was dropped because of the condition Uduaghan gave to Jonathan as the price for his support.
The investigation showed that even after prevailing on Orubebe to steer clear of the governorship contest in Delta, Uduaghan did not give any concrete evidence that he was supporting the President.
Instead, Uduaghan’s name was said to have come up among the governors involved in some moves against the chairman of the PDP.
In one of the meetings between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the former governor, Obasanjo was said to have been enraged by Uduaghan’s action.
Obasanjo reportedly wondered how Uduaghan could give such a condition to a Nigerian president, asking if Uduaghan knew that his action could have implications.
“What do you think will happen if this man suddenly decides to say he is not contesting? Don’t you think you will be in trouble?” Obasanjo was said to have queried Uduaghan.
The source said that it was in the midst of the hazy political relationship between Uduaghan and Jonathan that the court judgement annulling the former’s election occurred.
SATURDAY PUNCH investigation showed that the meeting between Jonathan and Uduaghan shortly after the November 9 judgement, indicated that neither the Presidency nor the national leadership of the PDP would subvert the electoral process to give an edge to Uduaghan in the rerun.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said on Friday that INEC would conduct free, fair and credible elections. He said INEC would rely on the existing register in compliance with the court verdict, to conduct the election.
However, Uduaghan himself has said that his performance as governor of Delta would speak for him in the rerun election.
He is believed to have the support of the grass roots in the PDP, which could count in the election.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/
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