DELTA 2023: Contradictions surrounding Obidient Movement meetings with other governorship candidates
By GbaramatuVoice Editorial Board
Going by media reports, the members of Obidient Movement have held separate but related meetings with different governorship candidates in Delta state, as part of the group’s efforts to form alliance with any party whose candidate is deemed most qualified to bring the state out of its current political and socioeconomic wood.
More than anything else, the latest action coming from the group has again affirmed as true GbaramatuVoice long held opinion that the movement focused attention on electing Peter Obi as President without display of similar attitude or dexterity on those that will emerge Senators, House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly Members and most importantly, state Governors.
ALSO READ: Silent questions for members of Obidient Movement
Aside from the newspaper lamenting in the referenced editorial comment that the movement overlooked the strategic importance of Senators, House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly members and most importantly, state Governors, the fact that they are still negotiating with governorship candidates in the state and from opposing political parties few days to the election, is a sign of a body that is neither holistic in approach nor capped with singleness of purpose.
While the group’s resolve and burning desire to institute a new political order in the country via the 2023 general elections remains commendable, it is however, not a good narrative that they failed to remember all these while that a good president surrounded by bad, greedy, corrupt and lazy lawmakers cannot perform.
This fundamental error of feeling less concerned about who occupies the state governorship position is not Delta state-specific but caught across the 36 states of the Federations. This partially explains why in most states of the federation, particularly in the Northern part of the country, Labour Party or Obidient Movement failed to support candidates in most of these positions.
What a fundamental oversight?
However, now that the members of the group are in a hurry contemplating alliance with other candidates from other political parties, what level of transparency should Deltans expect? Will such exercise guarantee process and outcome fairness devoid of financial inducement?
Compounding the choice challenge is the awareness that the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in the state is perceived by many to be a stooge of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the incumbent governor of this state whose poor performance has become an albatross to his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
As the choice for the best governorship candidate rages in the state, GbaramatuVoice as it usually does, calls on Deltans, particularly the Obidient Movement to look beyond political parties and study individual profiles (track records and achievements) in order to make informed decisions. The newspaper also urges Deltans to overcome instant gratification mentality when making such decisions.
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