ZIK GBEMRE TRASHES DELTA GUBERNATORIAL 2023 ENDORSEMENTS, DEMANDS TAIGA’S PDP UPU RESIGNATION…

• Moses Taiga led UPU leadership has gone too far with its partisan shamelessness.

• Edevbie deserves to be in jail like James Ibori, he deserves no mention in Urhobo’s choice of next Delta governor.

• Taiga & co must resign now & face their PDP politics of stomach infrastructure.

Olorogun Moses Taiga and his gang of PDP card-carrying Executives of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) have always not hidden their partisan leadership of the Urhobo social cultural body.

However, gullible Taiga’s leadership of the UPU has taken the partisan recklessness too far with the induced drift into two-timing endorsements of PDP aspirants for approaching the Delta 2023 governorship election. The only honourable thing for Taiga and co now is to resign their respective positions in the UPU and fully concentrate on helping PDP drive its interests in the anticipated transition elections.

When Taiga announced that the UPU he leads was going into PDP aspirant’s screening or pruning, there was widespread condemnation and allegations. It was not UPU’s place to endorse candidates, which they should leave for the political parties to iron out.

There have been overwhelming social-cultural issues confronting UPU. Herdsmen invading farms in Urhobo and killing the innocent. Taiga only makes a passing statement. No statement of commitment. The ruling PDP in Delta under Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has neglected Urhobo in the distribution of key development projects. All Okowa did were a few shoddy road projects, engaging incompetent Obakpor Engineering owned by John Oguma in Delta Central.

Rather than call Okowa to question, Taiga was always the most willing tool when Okowa needs gullible praise singers, praising Okowa as God sent and very benevolent for giving Urhobo mostly redundant appointments. Taiga has been blabbing about an Urhobo Microfinance Bank and a University. None he has been able to make tangible.

But when it comes to PDP politics and praising Okowa to high heavens, that’s when Taiga becomes his cocky self. He opens his mouth, without consulting, without participatory approval of the majority of the Urhobos he leads, and just indulges in unguarded political statements in the name of speaking for all Urhobos.

The other day he told Ijaws that Urhobo considers them as a closest ethnic neighbour, categorically pledging to the anger of the Isokos who have benefited less in Delta South District power-sharing, that Urhobos would give their support to Ijaws when it becomes South’s turn to be governor again.

Perhaps, no display of this partisan gullibility of Taiga has been more inciting than the April 17 purported UPU endorsement of David Edevbie as PDP consensus candidate for Delta 2023 governorship. When has UPU become a political party to be making open endorsements?

Even the partisan conspiracy called DC-23, fabricated by Ighoyota Amori to ridicule Urhobo has not been bold enough to go beyond the last three candidates it considers fit for the job in its pruning. They know it is a dangerous political trend to bend to inducement to endorse one individual without the participatory consent of other aspirants and the Urhobo delegates and electorates.

The best Moses Taiga’s PDP UPU should do is to invite all Delta governorship candidates, irrespective of their parties and advise on the need to build cohesion even if it means one aspirant falling for each other to get one formidable force as only one person will be elected governor. In taking this road they need not be loud about it. This is done behind the scenes.

Assuming without conceding that UPU had to endorse a sole candidate, how did the name Edevbie strike them as the best for Urhobo. Taiga claimed that “after thoroughly examining and analysing all the aspirants, we have reached a consensus that Olorogun David Edevbie, is the best person for the job at this time.

“Over time, he has acquired impressive public sector experience, both locally in Delta State and Federal Government, and prior outstanding international development finance experience.” What arrant nonsense? What beggarly propaganda?

I maintain that if the EFCC were not fighting selective anti-corruption, Edevbie should have suffered the same fate of being jailed as former Governor James Ibori. Edevbie was Delta State Chief Accounting Officer and Financial Advisor as Finance Commissioner when Ibori was looting the state blind.

How could Ibori have stolen so much if Edevbie did not guide him on the looting spree? How could such a person who aided the shame Ibori brought upon Urhobo now be the best choice for governor? Taiga rationalised Edevbie as having public sector experience and global financial management experience. What ironic recognition is that?

Having been in Delta government since 1999, what has Edevbie’s hyped experience brought to Urhobo Land.

*What major project has Edevbie influenced into Urhobo?

*Has his so valued experience brought any significant value to Urhobo’s common good?

*What’s the value of the experience if not only for self-aggrandisement?

*What private investment has Edevbie planted in Delta Central?

Does Edevbie’s hyped experience match that of Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi who as Minister influenced the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE) and other educational institutions to Urhobo under a shortlived ministerial appointment? Or can Edevbie be compared to Gbagi’s huge private investments, creating opportunities for Urhobos?

Above all other considerations, was it not the same Moses Taiga who endorsed Kenneth Gbagi much earlier in his Okpare, Olomu country home last year? Taiga profusely prayed for Gbagi and cautioned that his aspiration must not be contended by other aspirants. What changed overnight to warrant UPU double-speaking?

It is widely known that David Edevbie doesn’t believe he is an Urhobo, neither does he believes he is a Deltan? He doesn’t understand Urhobo language, Urhobo culture and customs so I wonder what shambolic criteria Taiga used in the selection of snobbish and insensitive Edevbie.

Edevbie does not deserve mention in Urhobo’s choice of next governor. He is an Urhobo man who doesn’t see himself as an Urhobo son. He helped Ibori to plunder the Delta treasury foolishly. David Edevbie is like most of the Urhobo aspirants who are incompetently riding on the back of Godfathers. Edevbie is Ibori’s stooge. We can’t have the errand boy of a public thief, and the one who helped the godfather to do the stealing as Urhobo’s choice of next governor

Urhobo does not need a political errand boy asking to be governor. You can’t do the same thing the same way all the time and expect different results. Edevbie’s governorship is clearly a governor for Ibori and a few PDP power brokers to keep sharing Delta’s commonwealth and leaving the majority alienate Deltans poorer and more miserable.

Among the park, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi is the only aspirant with a mind of his own, with tangible personal accomplishments, not riding under any godfather, more experienced in managing men and resources.

Let Urhobo collectively decide who they want.

UPU Resign Now. Taiga should hide his face in shame. He’s a disgrace to UPU.

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