Nigeria’s political landscape witnessed a dramatic shift on Monday as Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and key members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structure formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), ending PDP’s 26-year dominance in the state.
Speaking at a grand rally held at the Cenotaph in Asaba, President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, described the defection as a “political tsunami of unimaginable proportions,” asserting that such a sweeping realignment has never occurred in the South-South or across Nigeria.
“This is a political tsunami of this proportion, where all the members of the upper chamber of the National Assembly from a state are now in APC — it has never happened,” Tinubu declared to a cheering crowd.
The defection event drew a host of top APC leaders including APC National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, Progressive Governors such as Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), and Bassey Otu (Cross River), alongside Ministers, Senators, and grassroots leaders.
Oborevwori: ‘More Governors Will Join’
Governor Oborevwori said the move to the APC was not just a local shift, but part of a larger political movement sweeping across Nigeria.
“It is a movement, and when you have a movement, you cannot fail,” he said. “Delta cannot carry last. President Tinubu has shown us love; we must reciprocate in 2027.”
He downplayed internal divisions in the state’s APC chapter, asserting his leadership would unify all factions.
“As I have come, there will be no more factions. Whether it’s the Omo-Agege or Keyamo camp, everyone must queue behind the party’s new direction,” he said.
Okowa: ‘Our Move Is for the Common Good’
Former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa echoed this sentiment, stressing that the defection was driven by the need to align Delta with the federal government for greater development benefits.
“It’s not about me or Governor Oborevwori. It’s about Delta State connecting to the centre. That goodwill we see in Abuja — we need to link to it for the benefit of our people,” Okowa said.
APC Leaders Hail Historic Shift
APC National Chairman Ganduje lauded the defections as a major political legacy and credited President Tinubu’s leadership for making the APC attractive across party lines.
“This occasion is a political legacy laid by the governor. It shows that APC is the party of progressive governance,” Ganduje said.
Similarly, Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, praised Oborevwori’s infrastructural strides in Delta, saying the APC’s vision aligns with his developmental efforts.
Former APC gubernatorial candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, described the mass defection as a “defining moment” in Delta’s political history that will strengthen collaboration with the federal government.
El-Rufai: ‘High-Profile Defections Don’t Win Elections’
Meanwhile, in a sharp contrast to the fanfare in Delta, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai dismissed the significance of high-profile defections, calling them “widely exaggerated” and electorally meaningless.
“One governor defecting doesn’t mean anything. A governor has just one vote. Elections are determined by the people, not political bigwigs,” El-Rufai said during a media interaction in Kano.
The former minister revealed that he had joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which he believes can offer Nigerians a credible, godfather-free political alternative.
“APC and PDP have been pocketed. Nigerians want a new brand of politics, one driven by internal democracy and free from control by political godfathers,” he noted.
El-Rufai said the SDP was focused on building a mass base and intends to register three million voters in Kano State alone.
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