The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed profound disappointment over the recent defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and the entire state party structure to the All Progressives Congress, insisting they remain unshaken.
The mass defection, announced on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba, marks a significant political shift in Delta State.
The PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, addressed the development in an interview on Arise News on Wednesday night, stating, “I don’t think we have a problem of that magnitude to warrant the kind of step taken today by Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and the entire machinery of the state that was controlled by PDP.
“It has turned out to us as a surprise and a very disappointing one. This is the disappointment that some of us foresaw when early in the day we warned and we were requesting some of the things we did wrongly to be corrected; otherwise, we would find ourselves in a very pathetic situation like the case today.
“But suffice to say, let me make it clear from the onset that PDP is not deterred. I have, at the risk of sounding repetitional, always argued that it’s the elephant in the house; 27 years down the drain, it still remains unshaken with the same objectives, values and noble, and the name.
“It will be disappointing to the founding fathers of this party, the few that are alive, to see that it is degenerating to this sorry state, where a state like Delta, that we believed is our stronghold, where we worked tirelessly and burnt the candle. We went to court and met all that was possible to ensure we kept that state within our control but sadly we have lost it today without a justifiable reason.”
Governor Oborevwori, who was elected on the PDP platform in 2023, was officially received into the APC by senior party officials. His predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who served as the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, also joined the ruling party.
The defection includes the deputy governor, Monday Onyeme, commissioners, and all 25 local government chairpersons in Delta State.
Senator James Manager, announcing the defection, stated, “All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, and all local government chairmen, have agreed to join the APC. We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
