Victor Ochei, a former lawmaker in Delta State has said that Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori is helping former governor Ifeanyi Okowa move to turn Delta North Senatorial Zone (Anioma) to his own property.
Ochei insisted that his senatorial ambition was not driven by personal political interests but by a desire to challenge what he termed political impunity.
“I’m contesting the Senate not because I actually wanted to, but somebody needs to challenge this impunity. So, it’s not about me, it’s about Delta North people,” he said.
He also claimed that Delta State Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori reached out to him in a bid to persuade him not to contest against Okowa.
Ochei disclosed that he formally resigned from the APC on May 9 and has since distanced himself from all party activities.
“The governor called me that I should not run against Okowa, and I told him, how can Okowa be contesting, his daughter is contesting and he’s still bringing his in-law? That is an insult to the collective intelligence of the people of Delta North and I won’t allow it,” he said.
According to Ochei, Governor Oborevwori later asked what could be done to change his position, but he rejected any form of political negotiation.
“He asked what I wanted to persuade me and I said there is nothing you can give me. So it’s not about Ochei, it’s about Delta North,” he added.
The former Speaker further dismissed the notion that financial influence would determine the outcome of the anticipated senatorial contest.
Drawing from his experience during the 2014 governorship primary election, Ochei argued that political success is not always tied to the amount of money spent.
“He may have the money to spend, he has access to state funds, but he should know that if money gives power, he wouldn’t have become governor in 2015. The kind of money I had then, Okowa has not seen. I outspent him during the primaries but at the end he emerged,” he claimed.
Ochei said his campaign would focus on preserving a political environment where individuals from ordinary backgrounds can still aspire to public office.
“I was the son of a nobody when I contested and I won. The system allowed it, but today they are destroying that system that helped them. I want to break that barrier and give young people a chance to aspire,” he said.
He also accused Okowa of refusing to relinquish influence despite occupying several strategic public offices over the years.
“People made Okowa governor, he chased all of them away and now he made somebody governor, he doesn’t want the person to breathe. Everything is still about him. That’s not supposed to be so,” Ochei stated.
The former Speaker argued that after serving as councillor, local government chairman, commissioner, Secretary to the State Government, senator, governor and vice-presidential candidate, Okowa should allow a new generation of leaders to emerge.
“God has blessed him — councillor to chairman to commissioner to SSG to senator to governor and even vice-presidential candidate. What else do you want? It is better to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest,” he said.
