The former Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, has come under fire for allegedly lobbying members of the Delta State House of Assembly to block the creation of Anioma State.
Multiple sources in Asaba and Abuja alleged that the former governor, who hails from Owa-Alero in Delta North, has been reaching out to the state legislators to frustrate the constitutional process required for the creation of the new state.
The move, if confirmed, is expected to provoke a major political backlash from Anioma leaders and constituents who have long clamoured for statehood as a vehicle for equity and inclusion within the country’s federal structure.
The process of creating a new state is rigorous, requiring the assent of two-thirds of state assemblies across the federation, including the endorsement of the host state’s legislature.
“The Anioma agenda is bigger than any one individual,” said a traditional leader from the region who simply identified himself as Chief Nkem. “Let no man, no matter how powerful, stand in the way of our collective future.”
However, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Dennis Guwor, during a press briefing on June 13, 2025, in Asaba, said: “What has the House got to do with a law that has not been passed in the National Assembly? What is the correlation?
“That is a very frivolous allegation and you know somebody can take you up on that by that allegation for defamation of character because you have just alleged that he is doing that.
“Have you done your investigation as a journalist to know whether truly he is doing that?
“My colleagues from Anioma, they were invited recently from information available to me, they were asked to sign for a bill before the National Assembly and they told me that a copy of the bill was not given to them. So, their bone of contention is that they want to see a copy.
“You cannot sign a document that is not before you, you cannot just sign on a plain sheet and then, you don’t know what that will amount to. So, after the meeting, they told me.
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“Because when they went for the meeting, I was aware that they were going and when they returned, they told me that this is the situation.
“There was no bill before them to sign. They were given a sheet of paper to sign, and they rejected it vehemently that they cannot sign on a sheet of paper for a bill at that level.
“So, you better find a way to retract that allegation if it is not true, you need to investigate properly. If not, you can be taken up on it”, he said.
The former governor, reacting to the allegation, dismissed claims suggesting he was working against the creation of Anioma State.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olise Ifeajika, in a telephone conversation, Okowa described the rumours as unfounded and misleading.
“Okowa, as an Anioma man known for championing the region’s development, cannot be against anything that promotes the Anioma cause,” he said.
Okowa’s media aide added that such claims are politically motivated and do not reflect the former governor’s long-standing commitment to Anioma’s progress.
“Okowa cannot, as an Anioma man who everybody acknowledges as standing for Anioma’s development, be against anything Anioma. So that is not true,” he stated.
