Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor of oil-rich Delta is set to dump the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Political Economist NG can authoritatively report.
Before now, several political schemes and maneuverings had taken place with secret meetings and liaisons between staunch PDP and APC members on the feasibility of the defection. Early signs appeared late last year when Oborevwori subtly began campaigning for the reelection of President Bola Tinubu, the APC leader and incumbent president of multi-party, multi-cultural Nigeria.
Oborevwori was said to have been hesitant in the beginning when the idea was first mooted but soon developed interest in the prospect of quitting his party, the PDP, which has been in tatters even before it lost the 2023 presidential election.
Governor Oborevwori defection, according to top APC members in Abuja, will guarantee him a return as Governor in the 2027 guber election, a proposition which Presidency insiders said has the backing of President Tinubu.
An APC top cat and ally of Tinubu was emphatic when he projected that APC will capture Delta government house in 2027 in the same way it captured Edo state in 2024. He listed Rivers, Bayelsa and Oyo as other PDP states that will soon be in the pouch of the APC.
In Delta, there has been disquiet since early this year when the indicators became clear that Governor Oborevwori will be defecting to APC as the only option to secure his political future.
Informed sources told Political Economist NG that the governor will be meeting with key political office holders and appointees on Wednesday, April 23 in Asaba; a meeting suddenly convened which some watchers say has “serious political implications.”
“The meeting scheduled for 11am today will have one obvious outcome, the unveiling of the political future of Oborevwori,” a source attending the meeting confided in Political Economist NG.
While some see Oborevwori defecting to APC as political betrayal, others reason that it is the smartest move by the governor in the circumstance.
PDP at the national level has been in sixes and sevens, without bearing and without any defined leadership. Some PDP governors are already campaigning for Tinubu of the APC, a clear anti-party activity but there has not been a strong voice to rebuke them because of internal weaknesses that have eaten away the foundation of what used to be the biggest party in Nigeria.
Delta now has three senators with the recent defection of Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North) from PDP to APC, another strategy to ensure his return to the senate. Governor Oborevwori joining the APC will give Delta a total APC colouration as many members of the State Assembly, House of Representatives and local government chairmen will follow suit.
“This will be victory for former Governor James Ibori whom despite still being a member of the PDP has had his staunch supporters and political disciples move into the APC,” our source said.
According to our source, Ibori is still very popular and strongly connected to Deltans despite his trials and ordeals.
“Ibori still holds the key to making the next governor especially with his closeness to President Tinubu and his electoral value”, the source said.
The APC is strategically growing in strength and presence in Delta State ahead of the 2027 elections. Some PDP members, including high-profile politicians like Senator Ned Nwoko and Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, and a strong contingent from the Delta Unity Group (DUG) have recently dumped PDP for the APC.
