Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori; his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and all members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Shortly after a meeting that lasted over six hours at Government House, Asaba, the state capital, Senator James Manager, who represented Delta South senatorial district between 2003 and 2023, announced: ‘All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC.
‘We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat’.
The state Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads and Public Information), Mr. Charles Aniagwu officially confirmed the governor’s defection and the collective decision of PDP leaders and stakeholders n the state to join the APC.
He explained: ‘There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state, to build the court of law that has existed in our state, to further advance the cause of security and the welfare of our people, and, to a large extent, ensure that development in Delta is not truncated.
‘In taking that decision, we concluded that leaving the PDP was very necessary for us to be able to collaborate and build a state that every Deltan will be proud of. We believe that what is happening, and the state of the PDP, is akin to that palm wine whose taste has changed — and there was a need for us to change the drinking party’.
‘By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC’, he said.
The move marks a significant turning point in state politics, signalling a broader political recalibration that could reshape party dominance in the South-South region.
Oborevwori, who had been a member of the PDP for over 10 years, was elected as the representative of the Okpe state constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly under the party in 2015. This followed 19 years of public service, which began with his role as a councillor in 1996. He was elected Speaker of the state House of Assembly on 11 May 2017 following the impeachment of Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya. He was re-elected in 2019 as the Speaker for a second term.
He was declared the governor-elect of Delta State on 20 March 2023 after winning the gubernatorial elections held on 18 March 2023. He went on to win the general election and was sworn in as governor on 29 May 2023.
Okowa, the Vice Presidential running mate of the PDP in the 2023 general elections, joined the party in 1998, and served as a Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources (July 1999 – April 2001), Water Resources Development (April 2001 – May 2003) and Health (September 2003 – October 2006). In June 2007, he was appointed Secretary to the Delta state Government.
He represented Delta North senatorial district for a term (2011 – 2015) and was the state governor for two terms (2015 – 2023).
