2023 Delta State gubernatorial election

2023 Delta State gubernatorial election
← 2019 18 March 2023 2027 →
Registered3,221,697
 
Nominee Sheriff Oborevwori Ovie Omo-Agege Ken Pela
Party PDP APC LP
Running mate Monday John Onyeme Friday Osanebi Julie Nwabogo Umukoro
Popular vote 53.63% 35.76% 7.15%
Percentage 360,234 240,229 48,027
Omo-Agege:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Oborevwori:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Ifeanyi Okowa
PDP

Elected Governor

Sheriff Oborevwori
PDP

The 2023 Delta State gubernatorial election was held on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Delta State, concurrent with elections to the Delta State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly.[1][2] The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was held three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections.[3] Incumbent PDP Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term. Speaker of the House of Assembly Sheriff Oborevwori held the office for the PDP by a 18% margin over Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC).[4]

Party primaries were scheduled for between 4 April and 9 June 2022 with the Peoples Democratic Party nominating Oborevwori on 25 May while the All Progressives Congress nominated Omo-Agege — the serving Senator for Delta Central — on 26 May.[5][6] Although Oborevwori was initially disqualified by a Federal High Court on 7 July due to issues with his certificates, an Appeal Court overturned the ruling and reinstated Oborevwori on 29 August.[7][8]

When collation completed on 20 March, INEC declared Oborevwori as the victor with official totals showing Oborevwori won about 360,000 votes (~54% of the vote) as runner-up Omo-Agege received around 240,000 votes (~36% of the vote) while LP nominee Ken Pela gained just over 48,000 votes (~7% of the vote).[4] Omo-Agege rejected the results and filed legal challenges with the proceedings eventually reaching the Supreme Court, which affirmed Oborevwori's victory in January 2024.[9]

Electoral system

The Governor of Delta State is elected using a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state local government areas. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Background

Delta State is a diverse state in the South South; although its oil reserves make it one of the most wealthy states in the nation, Delta has faced challenges in frequent oil spills, environmental degradation, and cult violence in large part due to years of systemic corruption.

Politically, the state's 2019 elections were categorized as a continuation of the PDP's control as Okowa won with over 80% of the vote and the party won a majority in the House of Assembly along with holding two senate seats. For the federal House, the PDP won back one seat lost from a defection but the seat of a different defector from the PDP went to the APC leaving the total results at 9 PDP, 1 APC. Although the state was easily won by PDP presidential nominee Atiku Abubakar, it still swung towards Buhari compared to 2015 and had much lower turnout.

In Okowa's May 2019 inauguration speech, he said that his second term focuses would include establishing nineteen new technical colleges, transport infrastructure, healthcare, entrepreneurship training programmes, and agriculture development.[10] Performance-wise, Okowa was praised for increasing government transparency and improving infrastructure but was criticized for the controversial Delta Line privatization and his administration’s systemic budget misappropriation.[11][12][13][14]

Primary elections

The primaries, along with any potential challenges to primary results, were to take place between 4 April and 3 June 2022 but the deadline was extended to 9 June.[2][15] An informal zoning gentlemen's agreement sets the Delta Central Senatorial District to have the next governor as Delta Central has not held the governorship since 2007.[16] However, groups from both the Delta North Senatorial District and Delta South Senatorial District claimed that as one full rotation of district would be complete in 2023, the next rotation could start from any district.[17] Furthermore, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa claimed that there was no zoning agreement for the PDP[18] while the Delta APC chastised the comments and committed to zoning their ticket to Delta Central.[19][20] Nonetheless, both major parties ended up nominating natives of the Central district.

All Progressives Congress

The year prior to the APC primaries were categorized by party infighting between Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and several other Delta APC politicians led by minister Festus Keyamo and Great Ogboru who accused Omo-Agege of hijacking the party to guarantee his victory in the 2023 gubernatorial primary. The two groups held separate parallel party congresses in late 2021 but as Omo-Agege is a high-ranking senator, his faction's congress was recognized as legitimate by the national party and he announced his gubernatorial candidacy in April 2022.[21][22]

On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for gubernatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦10 million and nomination form price at ₦40 million with a 50% nomination form discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms were to be sold from 26 April to 6 May until the deadline was later extended to 10 May then 12 May.[23] After the submission of nomination forms by 13 May, candidates were screened by a party committee on 14 and 15 May while 16 May was the date for the screening appeal process.[24] Ward congresses and LGA congresses were set for between 7 and 9 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 26 May, in concurrence with other APC gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made the next day.[25][26][27][28]

Ahead of the primary, Omo-Agege continuously reached out to aggrieved party members in an attempt to unify the party.[29] On the primary date, Omo-Agege was the sole candidate and won the nomination unopposed. In his acceptance speech, Omo-Agege thanked his supporters and claimed that the state party reconciliation had succeeded.[6] However, Ogboru left the party to become APGA's gubernatorial nominee, thus splitting the former state APC. About a month later, Omo-Agege picked Friday Osanebi as his running mate; Osanebi, a former House of Assembly member, was noted to be from the northern region and an ethnic Ndokwa, the group expected to get the deputy slot.[30]

Nominated

Withdrew

  • Micheal Ighofose[32]

Declined

  • Jaro Egbo: lawyer[33]

Results

APC primary results[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
APC Ovie Omo-Agege 1,190 100.00%
Total votes 1,190 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 45 N/A
Turnout 1,235 Unknown

People's Democratic Party

Analysts viewed the PDP primary as a proxy battle between outgoing Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (who allegedly supported Assembly Speaker Sheriff Oborevwori) and former Governor James Ibori (who backed former finance commissioner David Edevbie).[34][22][35] Another element of the race is zoning with the vast majority of candidates coming from Delta Central but two exceptions from Delta South.[22]

On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its gubernatorial primaries' schedule, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates were screened by a party committee on 28 April while 2 May was the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses were set for 29 April and LGA congresses were rescheduled for 10 May to elect delegates for the primary.[36] Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 25 May, in concurrence with all other PDP gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made in the following days.[37][38]

Pre-primary analysis noted the previous political closeness of Okowa, Ibori, Oborevwori, and Edevbie before claiming that scandals revolving around Oborevwori credentials could hurt him.[29] On the primary date, over a dozen candidates contested an indirect primary at the Stephen Keshi Stadium that ended with Oborevwori's victory with results showing him winning over 70% of the delegates' votes.[5] Shortly before vote collation ended, Edevbie and Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro staged a walkout in protest of the proceedings.[39] After the primary, observers initially asked if the party could unite in the wake of the contentious primaries but when Okowa was selected as the PDP vice presidential nominee, observers noted that he had taken effective control of the entire state party from ibori for the first time since 1999.[40][41] On 23 June, Monday John Onyeme — the state Board of Internal Revenue Chairman — was announced as Oborevwori's running mate; Onyeme was noted to be from the northern region and an ethnic Ndokwa, the group expected to get the PDP deputy slot.[42][43] However, while Oborevwori was beginning his general election campaign, Edevbie went to court for the annulment of the primary based on discrepancies in Oborevwori's submitted certificates; Oborevwori was disqualified on 7 July by a Federal High Court.[7] The court ruling restarted the internal power struggle between Okowa and Obori as some party members feared that the infighting could led to the disqualification of the party.[44] While the Oborevwori appeal was pushed to August by an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja, a different High Court division found the primary election to have been validly conducted in a lawsuit filed by a different unsuccessful candidate — Ikie Agbarianovwe.[45][46] On 29 August, the Appeal Court ruled in favour of Oborevwori, reinstating him as the PDP nominee on the grounds that his opponents had not conclusively proven forgeries in his certificates.[47][8] Edevbie immediately initiated an appeal to the Supreme Court with Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola appointing a panel led by Justice Amina Augie to hear the case.[48][49] On 21 October — the day of the verdict, a violent crowd of PDP supporters forced their way into the courtroom;[50] after it was cleared, the panel's unanimous verdict in favour of Oborevwori was announced in which the court held that Oborevwori was the valid PDP nominee for governor.[51] Both Okowa and Oborevwori publicly celebrated the verdict as a victory for internal democratic practices while the state PDP released a statement calling for unity.[52][53]

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Results

Candidates' vote share

  Sheriff Oborevwori (71.86%)
  David Edevbie (13.77%)
  James Manager (10.11%)
  Other candidates (4.26%)
PDP primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
PDP Sheriff Oborevwori 590 71.86%
PDP David Edevbie 113 13.77%
PDP James Manager 83 10.11%
PDP Peter Mrakpor 9 1.10%
PDP Kingsley Otuaro 9 1.10%
PDP Fred Majemite 6 0.73%
PDP Ejaife Odebala 3 0.37%
PDP Bright Onajefe-Gift 3 0.37%
PDP Braduce Angozi 2 0.24%
PDP Abel Esievo 2 0.24%
PDP Lucky Idike 1 0.12%
PDP Ikie Agbarianovwe 0 0.00%
PDP Chris Iyowaye 0 0.00%
Total votes 821 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 3 N/A
Turnout 824 Unknown

Minor parties

Campaign

After the primaries in June 2022, observers stated that then-PDP nominee Sheriff Oborevwori focused on unifying the state PDP while the APC began general election preparations.[77] Analysts also noted two notable minor party nominees — longtime politician Great Ogboru (APGA) and former Minister Kenneth Gbagi (SDP) — while also writing about the power shift as all prominent candidates were from the central district.[78][79] By late June and July, both major parties' focus had shifted to the search for a deputy gubernatorial nominee as regional and ethnic balance was considered; as both Omo-Agege and Oborevwori are ethnic Urhobos from the central district, they looked towards the northern district for a running mate. As the Ndokwa people had never produced a governor or deputy governor, both Omo-Agege and Oborevwori picked a running mate from the ethnic group — Friday Osanebi and Monday John Onyeme, respectively.[80]

Despite attempts at PDP reconciliation, a lawsuit challenging Oborevwori's candidacy by runner-up David Edevbie was not withdrawn and emerged successful on 7 July. The court ruling disqualified Oborevwori for discrepancies in his certificates and ordered the PDP to conduct a new primary.[7] Oborevwori immediately appealed the decision and the PDP insisted that he was the party nominee but INEC omitted his name from the list of recognized nominees later in July.[81] Although Oborevwori was reinstated as nominee by an Appeal Court ruling in late August, the month was dominated by PDP infighting and observer questions over the party's electoral strength.[8][82][83] Coupled with the previous infighting was the shadow of Edevbie's appeal to the Supreme Court, which reporters said signified the continuation of the PDP crisis.[48] When the official campaign period began in early October, analysis focused on various candidates while noting that the PDP had not resolved its crisis.[84] The PDP dispute was finally concluded in mid-October as the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Oborevwori, affirming him as the valid PDP nominee.[51]

At the end of October, negative campaigning escalated as Omo-Agege labeled Oborevwori as simply a proxy of Okowa while Oborevwori derided the APC as non-performing.[85] By the next month, the jabs had intensified further with Omo-Agege accusing Oborevwori of running the House of Assembly as a rubber stamp for Okowa while Oborevwori responded by labeling the Senate as a rubber stamp for Buhari. The attacks were in the wider context of internal party rifts within both the APC and PDP as there were notably absences from campaign events by the intraparty rivals of Omo-Agege and Oborevwori.[86][87] As campaigning continued into the new year, pundits noted the seeming disinterest in campaigning from the Edevbie-aligned camp within the PDP along with waves of defections from several parties in January 2023.[88][89][90][91] Other observers noted the renewed political salience of ethnic identity politics.[92] By February, analysts reviewed the chances of each candidate, noting that no minor party nominee seemed to have gained a foothold or have a chance of victory.[93] Premium Times analysis labeled the race as a tossup between Oborevwori and Omo-Agege; noting the outcome of the presidential election and the moves of James Ibori as two key unknown factors before Election Day.[94]

Later in February, focus switched to the presidential election on 25 February. In the election, Delta State voted for Peter Obi (LP); Obi won the state with 55.6% of the vote, beating Atiku Abubakar (PDP) at 26.3% and Bola Tinubu (APC) at 14.7%. Considered a slight surprise as Okowa was Abubakar's running mate, the result led to increased focus on the gubernatorial race.[95] Additionally, the presidential result pushed journalists to label Ken Pela (LP) as a major candidate due to Obi's win.[96]

Projections

Source Projection As of
Africa Elects[a][97] Tossup 17 March 2023
Enough is Enough-
SBM Intelligence[b][98] 		Oborevwori 2 March 2023

Conduct

Electoral timetable

On 26 February 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission released the timetable, setting out key dates and deadlines for the election.[99] Months later on 27 May 2022, INEC made a slight revision to the timetable, allowing parties extra time to conduct primaries.[100]

  • 28 February 2022 – Publication of Notice of Election
  • 4 April 2022 – First day for the conduct of party primaries
  • 9 June 2022[c] – Final day for the conduct of party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from them
  • 1 July 2022 – First day for submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online portal
  • 15 July 2022 – Final day for submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online portal
  • 12 October 2022 – Commencement of the official campaign period
  • 16 March 2023[d] – Final day of the official campaign period

General election

Results

Candidates' vote share

  Sheriff Oborevwori (PDP) (53.63%)
  Ovie Omo-Agege (APC) (35.76%)
  Ken Pela (LP) (7.15%)
  Other candidates (3.46%)
2023 Delta State gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
A Helen Agboola Onokiti
AA Jenkins Duvie Gwede
ADP Emmanuel Samuel Ogba
APP Annabel Cosmas
ADC Efeoghene Shedrack Ekure
APM Ekene Eze
APC Ovie Omo-Agege
APGA Great Ogboru
BP Sylvester Umudjane
LP Kennedy Kawhariebie Pela
New Nigeria Peoples Party Goodnews Agbi
NRM Emmanuel America
PDP Sheriff Oborevwori
PRP Immanuel Edijala
SDP Kenneth Gbagi
YPP Sunny Ofehe
ZLP Emmanuel Okoh
Total votes 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes N/A
Turnout

By senatorial district

The results of the election by senatorial district.

Senatorial District Ovie Omo-Agege
APC 		Ken Pela
LP 		Sheriff Oborevwori
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Delta Central Senatorial District[e] 115,860 47.98% 13,682 5.67% 100,089 41.45% 11,856 4.91% 241,487
Delta North Senatorial District[f] 57,509 22.81% 27,783 11.02% 160,453 63.65% 6,322 2.51% 252,067
Delta South Senatorial District[g] 67,476 37.87% 5,782 3.24% 99,692 55.95% 5,235 2.94% 178,185
Totals 240,229 35.76% 48,027 7.15% 360,234 53.63% 23,247 3.46% 671,737
Percentage of the vote won by Omo-Agege and Oborevwori by district.

Omo-Agege
     <30%      30–40%      40–50%
Oborevwori
     40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

By federal constituency

The results of the election by federal constituency.

Federal Constituency Ovie Omo-Agege
APC 		Ken Pela
LP 		Sheriff Oborevwori
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency[h] 19,099 15.83% 19,321 16.01% 78,085 64.70% 4,177 3.46% 120,682
Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency[i] 9,471 32.95% 185 0.64% 18,409 64.05% 677 2.36% 28,742
Burutu Federal Constituency[j] 11,736 47.02% 123 0.49% 12,641 50.64% 462 1.85% 24,962
Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency[k] 18,358 43.51% 834 1.98% 20,095 47.63% 2,901 6.88% 42,188
Ika North East/Ika South Federal Constituency[l] 11,523 18.90% 6,485 10.64% 42,043 68.97% 906 1.49% 60,957
Isoko South/Isoko North Federal Constituency[m] 26,765 40.28% 1,386 2.09% 35,862 53.98% 2,428 3.65% 66,441
Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency[n] 33,158 38.96% 8,953 10.52% 39,537 46.46% 3,457 4.06% 85,105
Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani Federal Constituency[o] 26,887 38.18% 1,977 2.81% 40,325 57.26% 1,239 1.76% 70,428
Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency[p] 64,344 56.35% 3,895 3.41% 40,457 35.43% 5,498 4.81% 114,194
Warri North/Warri South/Warri South West Federal Constituency[q] 19,504 33.60% 4,088 7.04% 32,780 56.48% 1,668 2.87% 58,040
Totals 240,229 35.76% 48,027 7.15% 360,234 53.63% 23,247 3.46% 671,737
Percentage of the vote won by Omo-Agege and Oborevwori by constituency.

Omo-Agege
     <30%      30–40%
     40–50%      50–60%
Oborevwori
     30–40%      40–50%
     50–60%      60–70%

By local government area

The results of the election by local government area.

LGA Ovie Omo-Agege
APC 		Ken Pela
LP 		Sheriff Oborevwori
PDP 		Others Total Valid Votes Turnout Percentage
Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage Votes Percentage
Aniocha North[103] 4,386 26.88% 1,883 11.54% 8,938 54.78% 1,109 6.8% 16,316 18.93%
Aniocha South[103] 4,623 22.59% 5,107 24.95% 10,032 49.01% 706 3.45% 20,468 21.06%
Bomadi[103] 4,728 26.93% 100 0.57% 12,340 70.28% 391 2.23% 17,559 17.38%
Burutu[103] 11,736 47.02% 123 0.49% 12,641 50.64% 462 1.85% 24,962 22.71%
Ethiope East[103] 11,600 41.71% 530 1.91% 13,030 46.85% 2,654 9.54% 27,814 26.49%
Ethiope West[103] 6,758 47.02% 304 2.11% 7,065 49.15% 247 1.72% 14,374 13.52%
Ika North East[103] 4,733 14.00% 1,990 5.89% 26,760 79.15% 325 0.96% 33,808 26.38%
Ika South[103] 6,790 25.01% 4,495 16.56% 15,283 56.29% 581 2.14% 27,149 27.63%
Isoko North[104] 10,811 38.16% 894 3.16% 15,899 56.12% 728 2.57% 28,332 20.02%
Isoko South[103] 15,954 41.87% 492 1.29% 19,963 52.38% 1,700 4.46% 38,109 27.62%
Ndokwa East[103] 9,044 45.58% 251 1.26% 10,146 51.13% 402 2.03% 19,843 23.70%
Ndokwa West[103] 10,252 37.99% 935 3.46% 15,539 57.58% 263 0.97% 26,989 26.62%
Okpe[103] 8,679 34.68% 1,155 4.62% 14,544 58.11% 649 2.59% 25,027 21.97%
Oshimili North[103] 5,327 11.74% 2,183 4.81% 35,966 79.28% 1,892 4.17% 45,368 44.22%
Oshimili South[103] 4,763 12.36% 10,148 26.34% 23,149 60.08% 470 1.22% 38,530 20.07%
Patani[103] 4,743 42.41% 85 0.76% 6,069 54.27% 286 2.56% 11,183 23.13%
Sapele[103] 12,090 40.55% 1,458 4.89% 15,217 51.04% 1,050 3.52% 29,815 21.36%
Udu[103] 13,769 52.67% 1,886 7.21% 9,746 37.28% 741 2.84% 26,142 18.72%
Ughelli North[103] 34,955 65.67% 1,438 2.70% 15,198 28.55% 1,641 3.08% 53,232 24.71%
Ughelli South[103] 15,620 44.86% 571 1.64% 15,513 44.55% 3,116 8.95% 34,820 26.50%
Ukwuani[103] 7,591 32.17% 791 3.35% 14,640 62.05% 574 2.43% 23,596 26.89%
Uvwie[103] 12,389 40.94% 6,340 20.95% 9,776 32.30% 1,758 5.81% 30,263 16.31%
Warri North[103] 4,165 27.51% 205 1.35% 10,367 68.48% 402 2.66% 15,139 14.04%
Warri South[103] 11,569 36.42% 3,743 11.78% 15,299 48.16% 1,157 3.64% 31,768 17.61%
Warri South West[103] 3,770 33.86% 140 1.26% 7,114 63.90% 109 0.98% 11,133 15.86%
Totals 240,229 35.76% 48,027 7.15% 360,234 53.63% 23,247 3.46% 671,737 22.06%
Percentage of the vote won by Omo-Agege and Oborevwori by LGA. Turnout Percentage by LGA

Omo-Agege
     <30%      30–40%      40–50%
     50–60%      60–70%
Oborevwori
     <30%      30–40%      40–50%
     50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Turnout
     <30%      40–50%

See also

Notes

  1. ^ AfricaElects projections predict the likelihood of a candidate winning a state by categorizing a state as "Safe" for exceedingly likely, "Likely" for somewhat likely, and "Lean" for least likely. If no clear determination could be made, states are categorized as "tossups".
  2. ^ EiE-SBM projections predict which candidates will win states.
  3. ^ The original deadline was 3 June; however, INEC pushed it back to 9 June at the behest of parties.[101]
  4. ^ The original deadline was 9 March; however, INEC pushed it back to 16 March.[102]
  5. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ethiope East, Ethiope West, Sapele, Okpe, Udu, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, and Uvwie.
  6. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili South, Oshimili North, and Ukwuani.
  7. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Bomadi, Burutu, Isoko North, Isoko South, Patani, Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South West.
  8. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Oshimili North, and Oshimili South.
  9. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Bomadi and Patani.
  10. ^ Comprising the local government area of Burutu.
  11. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ethiope East and Ethiope West.
  12. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ika North East and Ika South.
  13. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Isoko North and Isoko South.
  14. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Okpe, Sapele, and Uvwie.
  15. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, and Ukwuani.
  16. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Udu, Ughelli North, and Ughelli South.
  17. ^ Comprising the local government areas of Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South West.

References

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  3. ^ Suleiman, Qosim. "It's Official: INEC postpones Saturday's governorship, state assembly elections". Premium Times. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
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  7. ^ a b c d Olabimtan, Bolanle (7 July 2022). "Court disqualifies Oborevwori, Delta PDP guber candidate, over invalid nomination". TheCable. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Imukudo, Saviour (29 August 2022). "Appeal Court reinstates sacked Delta PDP governorship candidate". Premium Times. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  9. ^ Ejekwonyilo, Ameh. "Supreme Court affirms Delta governor's election". Premium Times. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  10. ^ "For The Record: Full text of Inauguration speech of Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  11. ^ "RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNORS, SEPTEMBER, 2019: Top 5, Bottom 5". Ripples Nigeria. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2022. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State makes the Top 5 governors in Nigeria for his promotion of open governance, with the finances of the state placed in the public domain. We take cognizance of the publication of the state's annual budget and its performance for public monitoring and scrutiny. This, we note, is capable of promoting transparency, integrity in the conduct of government business and ultimately confidence of the governed...The administration's commitment to road infrastructure gets a positive look in.
  12. ^ "RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNORS, DECEMBER 2019: Top 5, Bottom 5". Ripples Nigeria. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2022. We note his efforts at building roads in different parts of the state and specifically commend him for the N18 billion dedicated for building 6 storm drainages to solve the problems of flooding in Warri and Uvwie.
  13. ^ Markson, Isaac (22 May 2021). "Shady deal that marred sale of Delta Line". International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  14. ^ Markson, Isaac (2 December 2021). "Investigation: Okowa Government, House of Assembly in a multi-billion naira scandal (PART 1)". International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
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