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The Movement for Stronger Delta (MSD) states that the “Open Letter to PDP Stakeholders Atiku/Okowa Ticket: Dead on Arrival” missed the point. Of course, the so-called letter reeks of malice. To the contrary, MSD acknowledges it as a terrific hit on the target of moving forward for the progress and changing the change in Nigeria.

The point to ruminate on is, if the ticket is “dead on arrival”, why is the author and his sponsors het-up and full of anxiety? If they strongly believe that the Atiku/Okowa PDP Presidential ticket is a non-event, why are they getting agitated and hollering everywhere and being pugnacious?

This is why the full-page advertorial by one Comrade Prince Kpokpogri, source of the headline published in Vanguard of Tuesday, June 21, 2023 is nothing but a disgraceful outpouring of despicable emotions that exposed the cynical state of the author’s mind. Clearly in the write-up, is an attitude that exuded disparaging sarcasm and contemptuous scoffing of the person of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

Let it be said that those in the know about the source of the worthless, empty, and vain arguments pushed in that piece, understand the style of the author and that of his cohorts, one of which was unashamedly mentioned. These are birds of the same feather, which are smart at deploying the weapon of blackmail to extort lily-livered victims.

But never Senator, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a man that has proven to them to be too hard a nut for them to crack by his disposition and determination not to get entangled in frivolities bandied about by coercers with a penchant for filthy lucre. So, when persons like Prince Comrade Kpokpogri came out the way he did in the Vanguard advertorial signed by him, the understanding of an underhand engagement will sink deep and clear.

For starters, Kpokpogri, who is not a PDP member, wants people to believe his infantile argument, when he claimed that the description of Okowa by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as “President in waiting“ is a big slap to PDP stakeholders and, the people of South-South Geo-political zone and Southern Nigeria.” But his argument has been deflated by the series of felicitations and goodwill messages that have flooded the information space both in the print and social media. It has been an avalanche of commendations and congratulations for Governor Okowa.

Maybe he should be told that even the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Ijaw nation, worldwide, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) has felicitated the Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for emerging Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

A Daily Independent newspaper report of this reads: “The organisation, in a message issued by its Publicity Secretary, Engr. Oyakemeagbegha Ezonebi said the INC was highly elated by the emergence of Okowa, describing him as a humble, listening, and visionary leader, whose experience is needed at this critical time in the history of the country.

“INC commended the Presidential candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the National leadership of the party for seeing and appreciating the sterling leadership qualities of the Governor, assuring them that he would not betray the confidence reposed in him.

“The foremost Ijaw group called on the South-South region to accept Okowa’s emergence in good faith and work with him to restore the lost glory of the Niger Delta region.” Ironically, it must be noted that Kpokpogri, as we have been informed, is an Isoko man from Delta State in the Niger Delta.

And in his delusion, Kpokpogri, Chairman of the ignoble ‘Anti-Corruption And Integrity Forum’, claims that the Delta State Governor has lost credibility. How? Of course, it’s now clear that it is he and his base organization that has integrity challenges, not Okowa. No one is buying into the emotional instability caused by a self-imposed trauma that he is displaying.

Indeed, no one is begrudging Kpokpogri of having his fancy of the APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, it is his cup of tea, and he is free to eulogize him as much as he wants. But he should not infuriate the sensibilities of knowledgeable Nigerians by addressing Tinubu in borrowed robes of “a unifier.” In Nigeria?

How much did he try to unify the people when Nigerians across the country continue to be assailed by the evil assaults of herdsmen who unleash terrorism on the people, killing, raping, maiming, and kidnapping of people? He should show Nigerians a record of even mere verbal interventions made by Tinubu to the clueless Federal Government of his ruling APC, and of which he is the National leader? How much concern has Tinubu shown to the plight of callers and the clamour for the practice of true federalism, and restructuring of the country?

When communities come under barrage of attacks by land grabbing herdsmen and people are displaced from their ancestral lands and homes and made refugees in their own country and made to live in IDP camps, where is Tinubu? Kpokpogri did not see the integrity question here because Tinubu is in the good books of his anti-corruption and integrity crusading forum.

Besides, it was expected that Kpokpogri’s ‘Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum’ should have been at the forefront in taking up Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu when on the eve of an election he brought bullion vans to his home to distribute money to voters to compromise them. Where was the anti-corruption crusader then? It is this type of selective anti-corruption and integrity forum work that has called to question Kpokpogri’s work.

It is therefore clear why many people understand his eccentric behaviour especially, his persistent and unprovoked attacks on the person of Governor Okowa. The Governor clearly read the issue very well; shunned his antics and treated such with ignominy. He should not delude himself that people don’t understand the undercurrent behind his gaudy spat against Okowa.

The people know and understand his silly pranks and luckily for him, one of them has fallen for his underhand social crusading antics to dole out a fee for his well-known puerile advertorial 419. Of course, some discerning Deltans will still remember how his attempt to blackmail a sitting Senator backfired, when the Senator, another wily character himself, reportedly refused bluntly, to succumb to a certain nefarious out-of-court arrangement, proposed by Kpokpogri and his accomplices.

One of the grounds on which the judge, in the subsequent EFCC prosecuted litigation against the Senator, dismissed the case, was reported by the Guardian Newspaper thus: “The court held that the evidence led by PW1 (Prince Kpokpogri) was based on a call from an anonymous caller, adding that he did not tender the documents supplied to him by the said caller, who was also never called as a witness to testify.”. This just goes to show how phony and mischievous these characters are.

Hear Kpokpogri again! “I make bold to say that PDP cannot win more than six States in the coming elections.” Oh, yea. Let him prove first that he has a voters card, and that his one vote will fetch the party he is canvassing support for, about 20 million votes. Then, maybe people will take him seriously.

The phony social crusader and anti-corruption activist talks about “humongous borrowings” and exhibited his lack of respect for facts. With all the real borrowings being made by the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC Federal Government, the bogus social crusader did not see the implications of that on the future of Nigeria and her citizens. It is convenient to throw his eyes elsewhere and pretend that the Federal borrowings don’t matter. What a social crusader.

No, Okowa is his headache and must be hacked down. And that a social crusader and an anti-corruption and integrity forum leader can talk about putting up a =N=20 million bet to any person who can challenge him that PDP would win more than six States, speaks volumes about the integrity of an integrity forum man.

Infact, why would an Integrity crusader be boasting of putting down =N=20 million on a ‘bet’ (gambling)? Where did he even get =N=20million to so confidently fritter away with on gamble in the first place? This just goes to reinforce the suspected sponsorship of ‘bullion van’ connections to this so-called crusader and the sad, warped and unfortunate mindset which now rules the integrity community and defines its crusaders.

If he thinks that PDP, because of the emergence of Okowa on the party’s joint Presidential ticket with Atiku Abubakar, cannot rescue Nigeria from the shipwreck that APC and its self-styled ‘National Leader’ has put the country in, then Kpokpogri should leave that for the electorates to decide. He should keep his rants and delusions to himself.

Truth is, Kpokpogri is not God. It is only God that blesses. And Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has been blessed by God to be on the joint Presidential ticket with the PDP Presidential Flag Bearer, Atiku Abubakar. it has happened, and this blessing, a thousand bellyaching Kpokpogris cannot change it.

This anointing cannot be broken, but is an anointing that will break the strangulating yoke of APC on Nigerians, because the scripture says: “No man can get anything except it be given him by the Lord.” This one has been given to Okowa; it is a blessing from God, and “He who the Lord has blessed let no man curse.”

This, as we always say in MSD, is the Simple Agenda.

MOVEMENT FOR STRONGER DELTA (MSD)

June 24th, 2022