Ahead of the March 18,2023 governorship election, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State is staying true to his vow to unseat the incumbent, Dapo Abiodun. The Remo-born politician has so far stood with the people and refused to jettison his ambition in the face of daunting challenges. 
Having started the game long before many  others, the hard working politician has put in plenty of work into the project. Today, he remains one of the few candidates who have toured every nook and cranny of the state.  This has positioned him ahead of other candidates in the race because he understands where the shoes pinch, and he understands the problem of each and all the communities in Ogun state. 
He has proven that he is not an opportunist by refusing to abandon his people even when he was confronted by challenges that would ordinarily swallowed other lily-livered politicians.  In the course of his political trajectory he has been able to surmount all the hurdles thrown in his path by his opponents and naysayers.
Another cheery news coming from Ogun state indicates that the internal crisis threatening the chances of  Hon. Adebutu may have been finally laid to rest, following the public reconciliation with his political arch-rival,  Otunba Segun Showunmi.
As recalled, Showunmi  had earlier challenged in the court the party primary that produced Hon. Adebutu.
The foremost politician had always said that he was waiting patiently for the Supreme Court to give judgement on this matter and had always assured his supporters of the eventual victory.
However, all of this was laid to rest last Friday  when Hon. Adebutu with his loyalists paid a visit to Hon. Showunmi’s residence at his  Ibara, Abeokuta, GRA.
At the well-elaborated welcome party, Otunba Showunmi urged his supporters to sheathe their swords and work for the success of Hon. Adebutu at the March 18 Governorship election.
Showunmi, who was ecstatic, pleaded with his teeming to bury their hatchet and go back to their different polling units to canvass for Hon. Adebutu.
“My people, no more war. I am pleading with you to go back home and work for PDP. This coming election is for what concerns you and I. This coming election is for Hon. Ladi Adebutu. He is friendly and accommodating. Do whatever you can do to ensure PDP emerges, there’s no crisis again.”
Reacting, Hon. Adebutu  thanked Sowunmi for the reconciliation and sincerity. He said further that the journey to secure the party’s ticket as the governorship candidate has been tough, explaining that the party just received the 8th Supreme Court Judgment which has paved the way for him to contest the elections.
He, however raised the alarm that moles within have been working against the party to favour the opposition.
The governorship candidate disclosed that number of his loyalists who recently joined forces with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have all along being a burden, adding that their exit is a big relief for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Adebutu, who expressed optimism of winning the governorship poll, disclosed that the alleged moles used resources of the PDP to garner votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the recently concluded Presidential election
“Some moles within the Peoples Democratic Party, who are pretenders used our resources to work for All Progressives Congress at the just concluded presidential elections. They are burden to us and we try to manage them, offer them financial support every month’, he said.
“Their exit is now a relief for us, and they cannot last more than 90 days. Thank God we know them earlier enough and strike them out. PDP is now free. My mission to become the Governor is to repair the state”, Adebutu emphasized.
The former member of House of Representatives said those who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join All Progressives Congress (APC), are expired products, that will not last more than 90 days, stressing that their antecedents showed that it’s their habitual characters.
A source revealed that this reconciliation is coming at the right time and this would further boost the chance of the former member of the  House of Representatives.

Former member of the  House of Representatives and  Governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga, has said his mission is to restore social, cultural and economic fortunes of the state if elected governor.
Edeoga, who spoke at the weekend, lamented attempts by his opponents, who, according to him, have been fanning embers of disunity among the people, adding that his mission is to heal the state from years of disunity.
He said Enugu people are united and share a common cultural bond that cannot be overlooked by actions of desperate political actors.
Decrying efforts to pit people of Enugu East zone against their brothers in Enugu North of the state, the Labour Party candidate urged the people to cast their votes for him, stressing that he is the best person “to heal the state of imaginary divisions orchestrated by people, whose only intention is political profiteering.”
He said: “It is unfortunate that a number of people have been laying emphasis on what divides us rather than factors that unite us. But I have dedicated my life to making our state better. People are working hard to write imaginary lines of division between and among us; but I am here to blight those lines.
“I am from Enugu East Senatorial Zone, and I maintain cultural ties with Enugu North. This peculiar position puts me in good stead, better than any other candidate in this election to see everyone as one and the same. As God had made it, my running mate, Charles Nwokeabia, is from Enugu West. This means that in Labour Party, we have the type of rare balance that gives everyone in every part of the state a sense of belonging.
“We do not speak in zones. We speak of the state as one united constituency in need of transformation, and this we are determined to do.”

Story by National Waves
 

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, former member of the House of Representatives and Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) Hon. Ned Nwoko will emerge victorious at the poll. This is going by the overwhelming endorsements from stakeholders, which include traditional rulers, President generals of all the towns and communities,  religious bodies, students, farmers and market associations and the media.
As the elections draw nearer, political campaigns, election prognoses, and winning strategies are coming to a fever pitch as politicians map out the final strategy to outwit opponents.In the midst of the political uncertainty, there hovers in the air fear and foreboding on the part of not only the politicians but the electorate themselves who are uncertain about where political pendulum will likely swing.For Delta North Senatorial, in spite of the plethora of candidates across many political parties, it’s clear that the battle is a two- horse race between the incumbent senator Peter Nwaoboshi of the ruling All Progressives Congress, a veteran politician, and Hon. Ned Nwoko, an old political warhorse and a veteran politician of the People’s Democratic Party; who was a former member of the House of Representatives.
For the sake of clarity and to refreshen memory of those who may have forgotten the senatorial political landscape of Delta North, the field is peopled by contenders and a number of pretenders.
The strong contenders include the incumbent Senator, Peter Nwaoboshi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Prince Ned Nwoko of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was a former member of the House of Representatives.
Other candidates include Ken Kanma of the Labour Party, and Emeka Nkwoala of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), as well as Kenneth Gbandi of African Democratic Congress (ADC), among others in the race to the Senate.
Until the current dispensation, Delta North was without question a hotbed of conservative People’s Democratic Party since the return of democracy in 1999, but the configuration changed when the incumbent senator, Nwaoboshi, defected to APC.
Given his defection and the provisions of the amended Electoral Act, the political balance may likely change in 2023, given the influence and acceptability being accorded the billionaire philanthropist, Ned Nwoko.
Among other candidates, there’s none that can be said to be a dark horse capable of springing a surprise, so it remains a two- horse race between Nwoko and the incumbent senator.
Nwaoboshi, is an old political warhorse with a rich political history, being a foundation member of the PDP, former commissioner in the state, former state chairman of the PDP and now two-term senator. In fact, Nwaoboshi has been on the political turf since the return of democracy in 1999.
On the flip side, is the billionaire philanthropist and international lawyer, Ned Nwoko, who had represented Aniocha/Oshimili in the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP. He contested the senatorial election in 2011 on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) but lost to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP.
Given a plethora of analyses, groundswell of support on ground and the success of his campaigns as seen in the number of people daily defecting to his side, a number of analysts have predicted his victory by wide margin.
For record, we can recall that the two old warhorses are not just meeting in the political battle ground for the first time.
In the build up to the 2019 election, there was tension and uncertainty as their campaigns proved titanic as they vied for the ticket for PDP which Nwaoboshi eventually won, marginally, to get re-elected for a second term.
Few months after the 2019 general elections, Nwaoboshi had political disagreement with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the PDP leadership, and as a result moved to the APC with the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege who represents Delta central taking the credit for wooing him over.
His departure from PDP paved the way for an unwilling Nwoko who had earlier insisted that he would not contest the PDP senatorial ticket should Governor Okowa be interested in going back to the National Assembly in 2023 when he would be rounding off his second tenure as governor.
The governor was lucky as he was picked as presidential candidate of his party. Nwoko, predictably won the primary, defeating Paul Osaji during the senatorial primary held in May.
Ahead of 2023 contest, the campaign has been intense from the camps of Nwaoboshi and Nwoko, although the later is not physically present at rallies courtesy of a court judgement convicting him of corruption charges. He is currently serving his jail term at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, Lagos.
But his loyalists led by Moses Kamanya, have not let him down. Already, his billboards with bold inscription that the ‘Eagle has no rival’ are mounted in strategic locations within the zone.
Deputy Senate President and the state governorship candidate of APC, Ovie Omo-Agege who led the party’s ward to ward campaigns to Delta North, urged Anioma voters to re-elect Nwaoboshi.
Omo-Agege dangled mantra that echoed a sentiments before the Delta North people, alleging that the zone has a big chance of producing the next Senate President in Nwaoboshi if they re-elect him as he will be the most ranking senator on the party’s platform from the South-South geo-political zone.
“Going by our zoning arrangement, by the time Bola Tinubu from the South-West wins the presidency, his vice, Kashim Shettima is from the North-East, automatically, the Senate President will come to the south and it will be micro zoned to the South-South.
“Delta State will be lucky to have the number three position as represented by Nwaoboshi. It will be an elevation on the DSP position which I currently hold,” he said.
The Deputy Senate President also told Anioma voters to vote for an experienced senator with requisite lobbying skills and not “neophyte who will be alien to Abuja politics” to avoid under representation in the next dispensation.
Despite attempt to link him to the travails of the incumbent senator, Nwoko, distanced himself from Nwaoboshi’s travails, noting that he would prefer to defeat the APC candidate clearly and not by default.
“I like Nwaoboshi to come out from where he is so that I can beat him, I don’t want to win by default, I want to win clearly. This is the chance for me to tell Nwaoboshi that I am best material for Anioma interest,” he said.
The PDP candidate said he has got the experience and requisite lobbying skills to influence development to Anioma nation if elected.
“A good lawmaker is as good as the person with executive power, it is all about lobbying. There are many things to be done.
“Normally I will focus on the general well being of Nigerians because as a senator, I represent Nigerians whether you are in PDP, APC or Labour Party, it does not make any difference, the well being of Nigerians is more important.
“If you look at the bills that I sponsored when I was at the House of Representatives, it was about the people, the minimum wage, disability allowance, youth service.
“Coming down to the state here, this road (Asaba-Benin road) needs to be resurfaced; we need service stations along the way.
“We need to have roads from Oko to Ndokwa East all the way through Isoko to Warri, that road must be done. And the embankment must be elevated.A political scientist, professor Francis Atteh, told NATIONAL WAVES that “Given current configuration, Nwoko will defeat the incumbent senator, this time around in Delta North, political sympathy lies with the billionaire philanthropist, Ned. He has paid his due.”Many spoken to by this medium are of the view that Nwoko will win but by wide margin. Whether this will happen remains to be seen.