BY PATRICK MGBODO
THE Chief Strategist to the Delta State Governor, Chief Festus Okubor, yesterday, dismissed speculations of a rift within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta North Senatorial District.
Chief Okubor made the clarification during an exclusive interview with The Pointer, following rumours of internal discord in the Delta North chapter of the party.
The concerns stemmed from a recent meeting convened by the senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko at his country home, which was notably snubbed by key figures in the party, including former Governor, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa.
Responding to the development, Okubor—who once served as Commissioner for Information and Health, respectively—provided insight into the party’s leadership structure at the senatorial level.
According to him, “The leader of the party in a senatorial district where a sitting deputy governor hails from is the deputy governor, not even a former governor.”
He stressed that leadership is not self-declared but earned through character and public perception. “Leadership is ascribed to you by the people. You do not call yourself a leader unless you are a clown. It is the people who acknowledge you as one, based on your past conduct,” he said.
Chief Okubor maintained that there was no crisis in the APC, insisting that efforts were ongoing to strengthen the party’s unity and structure.
“There is no crisis in the APC. I don’t want to respond to any individual, but I can assure you that we are reorganizing the party for greater cohesion. That is what we are focused on.” He further emphasized that proper party protocol must be followed when convening meetings.
“At the senatorial level, it is the responsibility of the senatorial chairman to liaise with the party leader in the district—the deputy governor—to call for meetings. Anything outside of that process is mere political bomboyism,” he added.
Okubor stressed that, in party matters within the state, a sitting senator does not supersede the authority of a sitting deputy governor as is the case in the Delta North Senatorial District.
