Obielum, Ochor, Onyeme, and Tilije Compete for Delta PDP Deputy Governor Slot
Four members of Delta State's People's Democratic Party (PDP) are competing to be the party's governorship candidate and incumbent Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori.
Among the party's leaders are business mogul Godswill Obielum, current deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly Christopher Ochor, Commissioner for Finance Fidelis Tilije, and Monday Onyeme, chairman of the state board of internal revenue.
According to reports, the deputy governorship slot was exclusively allotted to the Ndokwa area of Delta North senatorial district following the sharing of political offices in order to solve concerns of claimed marginalization and imbalance in the state's political equation.
According to sources close to the situation, the decision was taken following a series of discussions with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the PDP's Vice Presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, and Delta north PDP chieftains.
Although roughly eight people from the Ndokwa area expressed interest, the list was reduced to four over the series of talks.
Oborevwori, the governorship candidate, is anticipated to select his running mate from among the four in conjunction with Governor Okowa and the PDP leadership.
Okowa is thought to prefer Onyeme as a running companion, but Ochor is also pulling the ropes, having worked closely with Oborevwori as deputy speaker for the past three years.
According to sources, Ochor withdrew his bid to return to the House due to micro-zoning inside the Ukwuani district, where a part claimed it was their turn to produce the next lawmaker.
Tilije, on the other hand, is an economist who joined the PDP after the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost the governorship in 2015.
Tilije, who is from Ukwuani like Ochor, has served in Okowa's administration since 2015, first as Commissioner for Water Resources and then as Commissioner for Finance.
Obielum's prospects of selection are small because he is from Ndokwa East Local Government, which is also home to the PDP candidate for Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency, Ezechi Nnamdi.
