The Urhobo, who dominate Delta Central, argue that going by rotation of the governorship position among the three districts, it’s the turn of Delta Central to occupy the seat from 2023.
The Urhobo take their bearing from 1999 when an Urhobo, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, became governor, re-elected in 2007, and was succeeded by his cousin, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, of the Itsekiri ethnic stock of Delta South, who governed for eight years, between 2007 and 2015.
Dr Okowa of the Ika ethnic group of Delta North currently occupies the governor’s seat from 2015, and will round off his eight-year tenure of four years each in 2023. Hence the Urhobo of Delta Central insist it’s their turn to restart the rotation of the governorship they took the first shot at in 1999.
But the people of especially Delta South advocate that the governorship should rotate among the ethnic groups – major or minor – with the Ijaw in a good stead to produce the next governor if that analogy were upheld.
However, the back-and-forth over zoning of the seat has reportedly put Governor Okowa in a fix, prompting him to publicly proclaim neutrality in the process of jostling for the PDP ticket.
So, who gets the PDP ticket, to take over from Okowa, dominates the Delta polity barely a week and few days to the primaries. Ordinarily, Deputy Governor Otuaro ranks high among the 12 governorship aspirants that the PDP has cleared for the primaries.
Born in Oporoza, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State on April 16, 1968, Otuaro is eminently qualified if education, competence, experience, exposure, steadfastness and loyalty to superiors and to the party are the main determinants for governor.
Besides his educational qualifications, with an LLB in Law from the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State (1999/2000), attendance at the Nigerian Law School, and Call to the Nigerian Bar, and a Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan (2014); Otuaro, after graduating from secondary and tertiary institutions, worked in oil companies, and held strategic positions in community, council and state assignments before landing the post of deputy governor in 2015.
He worked as a Technical Support Staff with NISCO Nigeria Ltd in Jones Creek Flow Station in SPDC Northern Swamp Operations, and as a Deck-hand in the Marine Department of the Nigerian Dredging and Marine, Warri, Delta State.
From 2000 to 2006, Otuaro was elected, and served as Chairman of Okerenkoko Federated Communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom. Besides, in 2004, he became Managing Director of Bruz-Otus Nigeria Ltd, while from 2005 to 2007, he served as Special Assistant on Community Affairs to Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori.
Between 2003 and 2009, Otuaro was Secretary of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), a non-governmental organization committed to resource control; and in 2008, was appointed by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan as Member of the Delta State Technical Support Committee of the Delta State Contingent to the Ledum Mittee Committee on the Niger Delta.
In 2009, he was Chairman, Delta State Rehabilitation Committee for Internally Displaced Persons; and from 2011 to 2014, Commissioner representing the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality in the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).
Elected as Deputy Governor in 2015, Otuaro has served for over seven years, under-studying the administrative and managerial skills of Governor Okowa, who, over the years, has graciously assigned to Otuaro varied and tasking duties, such as in security, peace-building and community development, and given opportunities to represent the governor and state at different fora.
In mid April 2022, at a visit to the PDP State Working Committee in Asaba, Otuaro said he’s the “worthy successor” to Governor Okowa, whom he’s worked closely with since 2015, and would be able to continue from where the governor stops.
“If you’re looking for a worthy successor, God has said it is me. I have the capacity, the know-how, all that are needed to steer the ship of the State to the next level,” Otuaro told the party leaders.
He craved for free, fair and credible primaries, saying: “I appeal to your sense of judgement. This is the time for us to stand strong, to exercise our God-given sense of judgement and conscience, to do that which is right for ourselves and for the future of our dear state.”
The PDP chapter Chairman, Olorogun Kingsley Esiso, gave the assurance that his leadership would not play to sentiments but would provide a level-playing field for all aspirants.
Noting that Otuaro must have acquired the needed experience to govern Delta, Olorogun Esiso stated that the party leaders “have a singular job in this process, well-laid down for us, (and) that is to ensure that we provide a level-playing field for all aspirants.”
So, based on his qualifications, steadfast loyalty to Governor Okowa and the leadership of the PDP, and involvement with and knowledge of the grassroots, and their social and economic problems, Otuaro is in a pole position to secure the PDP ticket.
Those chances are bolstered by the reported weight of Okowa behind him, even as the governor says only God crowns leaders, and declares that he’s no favourite candidate, and will allow a level-playing ground for all aspirants at the PDP primaries.
Actually, Otuaro says he’s unfazed, as he punctuates every of his thoughts and ideas with élan, in the knowledge that he walks in the path that the Almighty has charted for him in the journey to the Government House in Asaba, the Delta capital city.
According to him: “Though many may be the foes on the path to the promised Delta, I have great hope; the resilient and overcoming spirit of Delta (the Big Heart), our ingenuity, gift of resourcefulness, courage, and collective willpower as a people will override the storm and hoist the flag in a safe and prosperous land.”
Thus, ahead of the PDP governorship primaries, Deputy Governor Kingsley Burutu Otuaro keeps his eye on the ball, and no amount of distractions, save God’s appointing, will deter him from picking the ticket for the ultimate prize of Governor of Delta State come 2023.