Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Saturday played host to lobby groups from both the Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic nationalities in the state.

The groups sought his support for the emergence of their respective candidates as governor of Delta State in 2023.

The Ijaw advocacy group under the aegis of Delta Ijaw 4 Governor 2023, led by former Minister of State for Police Affairs, Alaowei Bozimo arrived Uduaghan’s Warri residence in the early hours of the day stating the reason for their visit to the former governor and Itsekiri PDP leaders, submitting that the Itsekiris and Ijaws were like hair and skin.

Bozimo said, “So far, we have three volunteers for the governorship from Ijaw nation. We have the Deputy Governor, Kingsley Otuaro, Senator James Manager and Mr Bradus Angozi.”

Also, the Urhobo group, comprising the President Generals of the 24 kingdoms in Urhobo nation and executive of their socio-cultural organisation, Urhobo Progress Union Worldwide, during their visit appealed to the former governor to add his powerful voice to the appeal for power shift to Delta Central in the next political dispensation .

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The Urhobo lobby group led by the UPU first Vice President General, Capt Anthony Onoharigho, maintained that Uduaghan’s leadership roles in the state, and more particularly in Delta South, cannot be overemphasised.

Responding to the teams, ex-Governor Uduaghan advised the Ijaw delegation that the approach to the advocacy for governorship should remain peaceful just as he tasked the team to keep the number of aspirants to at least one.

Speaking in the same vein to the Urhobo delegation, the former governor counselled the team to go about their task peacefully.