DELTA 2015: WHEN ELDER ORUBEBE CRAWLS ON HIS KNEELS

It was reported sometime ago of an intended plan to visit jailed former governor, James Ibori in his UK prison abode by governorship aspirant and sacked former minister, Godsday Orubebe with the help of Chief Amori Aghoyota.
 

The news now is that in what appears to be a desperate bid to win the 2015 Delta State governorship election, the out of favour former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has visited and begged Chief James Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, for forgiveness and support.

It was revealed that Orubebe crawled on his knees and even shed tears while trying to explain his role in the whole saga that led to the arrest of the former governor of the
state.

We gathered from sources close to Ibori that the sacked Minister paid him a visit at the Long Lartin Prison in the United Kingdom, where he is doing time for corruption and money laundering on Thursday, February 13, 2014, Orubebe, who was recently fired from his position by his kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan over his dismal performance and his inability to deliver on the all important East-West Road project, asked Ibori to forgive him for teaming up with the President and others in his kitchen cabinet to okay his arrest by the Interpol in Dubai on May 13, 2010, at the request of the British government.

Ibori, who still commands an impressive followership in Delta State, is still very
influential and highly respected by politicians and stakeholders, who from time to time visit him in prison to consult with him on political matters.

He was one of the powerful politicians that blocked then Vice President Jonathan from assuming office as acting President in 2010 during the power struggle at the time the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was critically ill and hospitalized in a Saudi hospital.
 

Our source said, “Ibori was surprised at first that Orubebe wanted to see him after all they had done to him and his family. He (Orubebe) said he came to apologise and to say he made a mistake for teaming up with Jonathan to hand him (Ibori) over to the British government to deal with.

“Orubebe told Ibori that he was shocked that Jonathan forced him to resign as Minister without prior notice, but had taken it in good strides.
 

“It was a Kodak moment when he told Ibori he wanted him to support his governorship bid in 2015,” the source who do not want his name to be mentioned said “can you beat that? After all they did to the poor chap? These guys are shameless.”

When asked what Ibori’s response to Orubebe was, the source said, “You know Ibori is a very smart politician. What else did you expect him to say?

As at the time of writing this report, it was however not clear if Ibori gave Orubebe the
support he had hoped to get courtesy of the visit.