By Hillary Ochiabuto
Some of us will remember that former governor of Delta state,Dr.Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa ,a medical doctor -turned politician, served as the Senator representing the good people of Delta North Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015. When the issue of zoning became so loud in the oil-rich coastal state ,the other indigenous ethnic groups like the Urhobos,the ijaws the Isokos and the Itshekiris had no choice than to concede the governorship seat to their Anioma neighbours . These groups before then were reluctant to do that because Asaba the administrative capital city,is located within the Anioma area . Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa,from Owa Alero in Ika North East local government area of Delta state, became the beneficiary of the power shift. Having stayed in the Red Chambers for four years ,he left the National Assembly to contest for the governorship and won.
“Ekwueme”, as he was fondly called, governed Delta state for eight years before handing over to the former Speaker of Delta state House of Assembly and the incumbent governor,Rt .Hon .Sheriff Oborevbori.
Delta North today comprises of nine local government areas namely Aniocha North,Aniocha South Ndokwa East Ndokwa West,Ika North East ,Ika South,Oshimili North, Oshimili South and Ukwuani. They are the Igbo-speaking people living at the western bank of River Niger and the only thing separating them from their Igbo kith and kin , starting from Onitsha,is the Niger Bridge. The area is made up a predominantly Igbo-speaking population although very few indigenous Igala,Bini and Yoruba population can also be found in some communities .
Senator Chinedu (Ned) Munir Nwoko ,a renown international lawyer , businessman and a Prince of Idumuje Ugboko kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta state represented Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives in the past and is the current distinguished Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the Red Chambers.
Perhaps ,apart from the late Ojiba of Asaba, Chief Dennis Osadebe and ,maybe,Late HRH Obi Senator Nosike Ikpo,no other Anioma man living or dead,has brought the Anioma State consciousness to the psyche of the people of Nigeria,than Senator Ned Nwoko. .His name today is synomous to the Anioma State request and his supporters are of the opinion that Nwoko needed to return to the National Assembly in 2027 to consumate the eventual realization of the proposed Anioma State,to be carved out from the present Delta state.While Nwoko wants the proposed Anioma State to be part of the South East geopolitical zone comprising Abia Anambra, Ebonyi,Enugu and Imo, Okowa insists that the new state when created must remain in the South South comprising Rivers,Bayelsa,Akwa Ibom ,Cross River, Edo and Delta states. It has to be noted here that the South East today has the least number of states in Nigeria. While the North West geopolitical zone boasts of seven states ,the North Central,North East,South West and South South all have six states each leaving the south East with just five. This glaring structural deficit negatively impacts the zone in the areas of representation at the Senate, House of Representatives, Federal appointments, revenue allocation , recruitment slots into military and paramilitary agencies etc.
Strangely,Okowa, in 2023 ,as the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) presidential candidate in the general elections, told who ever cared to listen that he was an Igbo man . Political observers were of the view that the move at that time was targeted at harvesting South East votes since he was not from the area, and again, a Southeasterner,Mr.Peter Obi was also in the race..
However,during the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial Primaries held on Monday 18th May,2026 across Nigeria,Ned Nwoko reportedly lost the ticket to Ifeanyi Okowa. If this result is upheld, affirmed or ratified by the party,it means that Okowa and not Nwoko will now represent the zone in the 11th Senate,if the APC,which is the ruling party in the State, wins in the Delta North Senatorial District.
This recent development has continued to agitate the minds of Anioma State proponents across Delta North and those of us in the South East who are sympathetic to the cause ,considering Okowa’s body language and disposition to the proposed new state.
Will Okowa abandon the pursuit of Anioma State creation if he wins the main election? With his glaring anti-South East sentiment,can Okowa reach out to the people of the South East if eventually only one new state is approved for creation to address the imbalance in the number of states in the area? Will the South East listen and accept Okowa the way they have accepted Ned Nwoko? Will the South East abandon the pursuit of other proposed new states like Anim,Adada,Aba and Etiti and relinquish the new state to Anioma people? Will Anioma people with their recent voting behavior as seen in the APC Senatorial primaries, support the new state creation in a plebsite or referendum if the opportunity eventually presents itself? Will the 10th National Assembly ,of which, Senator Ned Nwoko is still a member till June 2027 ,conclude all arrangements for Anioma State creation before its dissolution or will it extend to the 11th National Assembly which may likely have Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as a ranking member? Will Anioma eventually become the 6th state in the South East as proposed by Senator Ned Nwoko or will Okowa succeed in getting it created in the South South?
The answers to these questions are ensconced in the womb of time.
Hillary Ochiabuto is a public affairs commentator and an analyst on Vision Africa 104.1 FM Radio Umuahia’s NAIJA PALAVA Newspaper Review Programme on Saturdays.
He wrote in from Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria.
He can be reached on the phone number 07052009911 or on the email : kinghillary4u@gmail.com
