By Yemi Yusuf
Barely one month after helping to instal his successor in office, former Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, is at loggerheads with the incumbent, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, over the composition of the latter’s cabinet.
Other political leaders in the state have also joined the fray on the side of the current governor arguing that he has the right to choose a cabinet he could work with rather than one dictated to him by his predecessor.
Dr. Okowa is reportedly insisting that he wants 40 per ent share of the membership of the new cabinet and that those members he selected be given choice positions.
Incumbent Governor Onorevwori has found the suggestion unpalatable and his objection is shared by other stakeholders in the party.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the former governor wants his political allies to fill key positions in the Ministries of Finance, Works and Health. A former Accountant General of the state who hails from the same local government area as Okowa is being touted by the ex-governor to fill the position of commissioner for finance.
Governor Oborevwori is not amenable to these suggestions and may call the bluff of his predecessor.
On top of these, another former governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is reportedly scheming for a position for his daughter who failed to win the Warri North Constituency seat into the state’s legislature in the last PDP primaries.
A source said “The reason behind the delay in announcing a new cabinet stems from a disagreement between Governor Oborevwori and the immediate past governor.Okowa is insisting on having a bigger share of members in the new cabinet because he played a major role in making Oborevwori governor of the state.
“But other PDP leaders are uncomfortable with Okowa’s hard stance given that the governor conceded the office of secretary to the government (SSG) to him”.
Reacting, Governor Oborevwori, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, debunked the insinuation as mere speculation.
