Oborevwori’s Defection to APC, will Be a Game-Changer for The Party
Oborevwori (Courtesy, The Nigerian Inquirer)
By Benson Nwoko
A powerful and sinister force has been unleashed on Delta APC. That force is sowing seeds of discord and undertaking a hostile takeover of the party itself. It is a strong and powerful force operating with deep pockets and dashing boldness.
Delta APC has become the cesspool of enervating political intrigues, the party has always been engulfed with elite quarrel about the absence of “leader” in APC Delta grinds down to creating a false vacuum for Mr. Right to come in and fill.
It is all about denying Ovie Omo-Agege’s leadership and bringing in Mr. Right to take his place as governorship candidate of APC in Delta state.
Many among the elite of Delta state are complicit in this conspiracy of ecdysis of Mr. Right molting into the APC.we are watching one political intrigue unravelling in real time in Delta state.
The insult to the APC is not obvious to these black legs of the party in Delta. That they cannot find anyone from among themselves capable of leadership is a shame that they don’t realize it’s portents.
It remains a depressing irony that the state chairman of the party listed 41 “who’s who” personalities in APC in Delta state, as contained in his petition to the National Chairman.
The fact that they cannot find one person among these men and women is the ultimate disgrace.
The sorry situation in the APC now is that a group in the party is unquestionably working for the opposition ruling party, PDP. They want to impose the governor (Mr Right) and candidate of the PDP on APC.
So arising from this treachery, the party is infiltrated by the refuseniks of the PDP and the only hope of PDP remaining in power is to organize a hostile takeover of the governorship candidacy of the APC.
The APC Exco are now working at cross purposes, a faction planting discord against their own party and abandoning commitment to win the 2027 election on their own.
The party executive is now browbeating their own party leader instead of taking advantage of a fissuring in the PDP to build a bigger political tent to take in the deluge of defectors trooping into the APC.
The party has to contend now with the conspiracy of its own elite which has been unable to integrate into the party or to mobilize party members for success.
Even when popularity has been thrust upon APC by providence as we all watch PDP implode and members defect en masse into the APC, the so called leadership council has been unwilling to seize the moment and ride the popular wave for the good of their party.
So this conspiracy is old and deep seated. PDP foresaw the meltdown of their own party and went to work ahead of time to re-hire elite defectors from their party for the sinister job of bending the APC to provide landing space for Oborevwori. Delta APC elite party members are working to disrupt the party’s normative order.
They are entangling themselves in the leadership council fiasco, distracting Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the former Deputy President of the Senate and the party’s 2023 governorship candidate. Omo-Agege has been engaging with the party’s rank and file, opposing the Delta State government’s stance on governance ahead of the 2027 election.
With a party election scheduled later, these leaders would serve the party well by waiting for the congress to settle the matter of a new executive committee and establish a new party structure.
They are instead encouraging dissent and not advancing the cause of the party through beneficial actions. They are not advancing the party cause. They are also not mobilizing the party for the purpose of winning elections.
They work so committedly to supplant the aspirants of their own party for the candidates of the opposition. Where in the world does that happen?
And now, they have sown discord in the State Working Committee of the party and so can no longer bring unity of purpose to the entire organization. How does a party win elections without unity and without rallying round their leader?
Although Governor Oborevwori, the beautiful bride of all the political parties in Delta State has performed beyond expectations as a governor under two years, considering the situation he met on May 29, 2023.
He has done a lot in terms of infrastructure, construction of roads that cuts across all 25 local government areas of Delta state. He has also done well in the aspect of human capital development, in the entrepreneurship and training of youths.
He has worked magic in the agriculture sector, and this is helped by the fact that his road constructions were not limited to urban areas, it was extended to the riverine communities and these have resulted in all round development of the state.
Oborevwori represents a class of God-fearing and purpose-driven leaders that is why Delta State will continue to experience giant strides in socioeconomic remodeling as well as advancement in all sectors articulated in the MORE Agenda document.
Our governor is a deep thinker, meticulous leader blessed with uncommon intelligent; a good mixer and strategic team player who would go extra miles any day to advance the course of the State affairs and well-being of Deltans.
He cut down the cost of governance to the bearest minimum and virtually ignored luxury and glamour associated with public office and enjoyed in time past by senior government officials and high breed political appointees, all in an effort to save funds in a recessed economy to pay state workers salaries regularly.
The governor embarked on roads and other infrastructure development, created job and wealth for thousands of Youth who today are rising entrepreneurs, employers of labour and breadwinners under the Youth Agriculture and Skills Training Entrepreneurship Programmes (YAGEP and STEP).
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is a political bridge builder, a visionary leader, accomplished political leader, and had since aligned with President Tinubu’s visionary leadership devoid of political affiliation and all kinds of sentiments and it is foreseeable that APC Delta will at the appropriate time effortlessly adopt Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as sole governorship candidate in 2027 based on his monumental achievements as a pan Deltan, and performing governor of inestimable value.
Governor Oborevwori has been governing the state without borrowing a penny from anywhere in the world, not from banks or financial institutions.
Recently, he got the “Best Governor of the Year Award” from ThisDay Arise Media Group, and “Best Governor in Infrastructure Development Award ” from The New Telegraph Newspapers. These Awards were never challenged by any governor or group in Nigeria, meaning that governor Oborevwori worked very hard to earn them.
The cordial relationship between President Bola Tinubu and governor Oborevwori will continue to thrive beyond 2031, and it shall consistently attract additional dividends of democracy to all Deltans and the state, so as to complement the huge socioeconomic and infrastructural development achievements of the governor.
The flawless implementation of the MORE Agenda is commendable. As Deltans, we are proud of the remarkable achievements of governor Oborevwori.
A leader of one of Oborevwori’s support groups told a reporter that given that “the PDP has not found wanting in the discharge of the job for which he was elected and has not been accused of mismanaging the funds of the state, we are asking him to go to APC to actualize his ambition for a second term because the people of Delta state want him to continue as their governor.”
A group known as the Concerned Leaders of PDP in Delta State led by Theophilus Ekiyo, Mr. Ochuko Oghenekome, and Mr. Ezekiel Chukwudi also hinted at the governor’s possible departure to APC.
Last month, Hon. Francis Waive, an APC member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and other APC Chieftains have called on governor Sheriff Oborevwori to abandon PDP and run the next election as APC candidate.
They assured the governor that the slot will be reserved for him in APC. He later affirmed to the PDP governor that he will be adopted by the APC to contest the coming governorship election as candidate of APC in Delta state.
It was a grand move by the sinister force to legitimize the hijack of APC and hand the leadership over to Oborevwori, the PDP governor based on his performance as a working governor, was proposed to inherit the growing popularity of APC and retain the governors seat, the next time, as APC governor. So adopting Governor Oborevwori will be a game changer in Delta APC and the political elite quarrel about the absence of ‘leader’ in APC Delta will be a thing of the past.
We urge all APC members to remain vigilant and take their political destiny into their hands, and pray for the defection of Governor Oborevwori to APC and run the next election as APC candidate.
