Re-election Battle: Tinubu Turns To Ibori For South South Votes

By Akinjide Aina, Abuja Bureau Chief

Former Delta state Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori is the man who President Bola Tinubu has been entrusted with keeping the South south South geopolitical zone in the bag for him and the All Progressives Congress, APC as 2027 general elections approach, The Source Magazine can authoritatively reveal.

For a start, Ibori a deft politician and strategic grassroots mobilizer whose daughter, Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, elected on the platform of the PDP in 2023 to represent Ethiope Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Novermber last year defected to the APC,  has been handed the Delta state APC in a strange departure from the norm. In Nigeria’s brand of democracy, when a party is not in control of a given state in terms of producing the governor, the highest office holder of the party from such state becomes the party’s leader in the state.

In line with this unwritten political norm, without an APC governor in Delta state, the highest office holder in the state is the Minister for Aviation and AreoSpace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN and ought to be the leader of the party in the state but the Ibori factor has denied him this privilege.

The feud between Keyamo and the immediate past Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo Agege over the control of the Delta APC, the magazine was told, played a crucial role in President Tinubu’s gravitation towards former Governor Ibori.Last week, Delta APC leaders including Senator Omo  Agege, Keyamo, and the three sitting APC Senators from the state meet with the President at the presidential villa during which the Minister suggested a college of leaders for Delta APC the idea but was flatly rejected by him( President Tinubu) apparently with his mind made up on Ibori.

A source privy to what transpired at the meeting told the Magazine that “Keyamo was the first to speak and his point was a united Delta APC but asked that the best way is to have a college of leaders. Mr President listened to him and swiftly knocked it off, noting that the system of college of leader does not exist in APC and should be discontinued”

One of the APC leaders, at the meeting, a female, the  magazine was further informed made an attempt to blackmail the President against Barrister Chinedu Ebi, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC but was swiftly countered by Senator Ned Nwoko.

She had allegedly told the President that it was the turn of the state to produce the Managing Director of the NDDC and that Ebie was not a party man. At this juncture, the President inquired who Ebie was and Senator Nwoko told him he ( Ebie ) is the nominee of Ibori and a staunch party man. “She told Mr President that it’s Delta turn to produce NDDC MD and that the Chairman of the Commission, Chiedu Ebie is not a party man. At this point, Ned Nwoko countered her that Ebie is a party man and was present at the APC meeting held in Doris Uboh’s house and even brought money.

“Mr President turned to Ned and asked who Ebie is and he replied he’s a nominee of James Ibori. Mr President shouted “Ohhhhh, my friend”,  the source disclosed.

Meanwhile, to further strengthen Ibori’s hand, it has been gathered that he will receive a presidential pardon before 2027 in addition to being awarded the APC senatorial ticket for Delta Central Senatorial district.

Recall that a UK court convicted Ibori of fraud in 2012 and handed him a 13-year jail sentence.

He regained freedom in December 2020, after serving four and the half years and agreeing to be deported from the UK. He returned to Nigeria in February 2021.

President Tinubu, an Aso Rock and APC insider told the magazine “is not leaving anything to chance in what will be a ferocious re- election bid in 2027.

“Yes, Mr President has begun moves in earnest to have South  South geopolitical zone in his pocket and Chief Ibori is the anchorman, Chief Ibori, as you know is well loved in the South south, he is a deft politician and super grassroots mobilizer, so Mr President has made a strategic choice.To remove all encumbrances on his path and to strengthen him politically, Presidential pardon for Chief Ibori is in the offing, this is in addition to the offer of Delta Central APC senatorial ticket for 2027”

The insider further said: “In the 2023 presidential election, the President’s party, the APC was mercilessly dwarfed in the South South  by the Labour Party which fielded former Anambra state governor, Peter Obi as presidential candidate and the Peoples Democratic party, PDP which fielded former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, President wants to change the narrative in 2027 via Ibori’s sagacious political influence”