Vice President Kashim Shettima. on Monday, announced Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
This was at the rally in Cenotaph in Asaba, the state capital, where the governor, his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who was the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) two years ago, led the entire structure of the party to formally join the APC.
Oborevwori and other government officials in the oil-rich state were received into the APC, days after the governor announced his decision to leave the PDP.
Other APC chieftains who received the defectors included the National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; former National Chairman, Senator Adams Oshiomhole; Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Oborevwori described the decision as historic, explaining that the move to the APC was borne out of the desire to get the best for the South-South state.
‘What you have seen here today is a movement, not a defection. We have consulted stakeholders at all levels. Mr President has shown us love’, Oborevwori, who was a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, said.
He said that the decision to join the APC was made after consultations with stakeholders in the oil-rich state and based on President Bola Tinubu’s love for the state.
‘We cannot face him in 2027 to work against him. When you consult widely, you can see that the love is organic’, the governor argued.
The collapse of the PDP structure in the state ended the main opposition party’s 26-year hold on the state, adding a fresh layer of intrigue ahead of the next election.
That defection from one of the traditional strongholds of the PDP has continued to stir debates among Nigerians and analysts alike.
The PDP said it was shocked by the defection but was not worried about the impact of the political move.
During the official reception of the defectors, Okowa re-echoed Oberevwori’s reason for the collapse of the PDP structure. The former lawmaker and former state commissioner said the ‘bold’ decision was in the ‘best interest of our people.
‘Today is a great day for us in Delta State. We defected in the best interest of our people’.
‘It was not about me or the governor, but the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja. This is a bold, patriotic, and well-intentioned move’.
