- Endorses New Delta House Speaker, Oborovwori
By Austin Osayande (The New Diplomat Abuja Bureau Chief)
Political calculations with regards to the Speakership of the Delta State House of Assembly has changed significantly following the endorsement of Rt Hon Sheriff Oborovwori, the newly elected Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly by former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori.
Sources told The New Diplomat that the new Speaker led members of the State House of Assembly to formally meet with Chief Ibori, where the later openly endorsed the new Speaker, stressing that what has happened with the impeachment of Rt Hon Monday Igbuya is all about democracy being practiced by the legislators and there is nothing anyone can do about it in the current circumstance.
According to those present at the meeting, the former Governor advised the lawmakers to always consult with constituents, stressing that if they had consulted he would have cautioned against impeaching Igbuya.
An insider said: “The former Governor said since the act(Impeachment) had been carried out before the issue was brought to his attention, there is nothing anyone can do about it.
“He also maintained that if he had been told and he had advised against it and the lawmakers still went ahead to impeach Igbuya, then it would have been clear that they were looking for trouble by engaging in acts of political disobedience. He also advised his own daughter to stop making troubling political statements in the House over the issue of Speakership.”
It would be recalled that ex-Speake Monday Igbuya was impeached by his colleagues for alleged high-handedness and poor leadership style last week, an act that was said to have caused some political tension and unease in the State PDP especially with respect to 2019 governorship elections calculations. Igbuya was impeached with 22 signatures out of the 29 members of the House.
Immediately after the ouster, Rt Hon Oborovwori had led members to visit Governor Okowa behind closed doors. Governor Okowa and former Governor Ibori were said to have pilled pressures on the legislators to reverse their decision the Legislators stood their ground.
