LAGOS JUNE 21ST (URHOBOTODAY)-Four members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ndokwa area of Delta State are currently jostling to run as deputy to the governorship candidate of the party and incumbent Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori.

The party chieftains include business mogul, Godswill Obielum; current deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly, Christopher Ochor; Commissioner for Finance, Fidelis Tilije; and chairman of the state board of internal revenue, Monday Onyeme.

Our correspondent learnt that the deputy governorship slot was exclusively zoned to Ndokwa area of Delta North senatorial district following sharing of political offices to address issues of alleged marginalisation and imbalance in the political equation in the state.

Sources in the know of the development said the decision was reached after a series of meetings with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP for the 2023 general elections and PDP chieftains in Delta north.

Although about eight persons from the Ndokwa area had indicated interest, the list was pruned down to four in the series of meetings.

The governorship candidate, Oborevwori, in consultation with Governor Okowa and PDP leadership, is expected to pick his running mate from the four.

Okowa is said to be favouring Onyeme as a possible running mate but Ochor is also pulling the strings having worked very closely with Oborevwori as deputy speaker in the past three years.

Sources claimed that Ochor dropped his ambition to return to the House on the ground of micro-zoning within Ukwuani constituency where a section said it was their turn to produce the next representative.

On the other hand is Tilije, an economist, who joined PDP after losing the governorship of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2015.

Tilije who also hails from Ukwuani like Ochor has been in Okowa’s government since 2015 first as Commissioner for Water Resources and later Commissioner for Finance.

On his part, Obielum’s chances of being picked appear slim as he hails from Ndokwa East Local Government which is also the locality of the PDP candidate for Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency, Ezechi Nnamdi.

The Sun