The All Progressives Congress in Delta State will test its popularity in the 2027 governorship election in the state, having at the back of its mind that the governing party in the state, the People’s Democratic Party, will still be reeling from the gale of defections that have been unravelling it.
Delta State is one of the states in Nigeria where the PDP has managed to hold onto power since the inception of democracy in 1999, but there are permutations that the party would meet its waterloo in 2027 at the hands of the APC.
There are currently internal squabbles in the Delta State PDP and it seems that the marching order the Governor of the State, Sheriff Oborevwori, gave in November last year to the then-newly elected State Chairman, Solomon Arenyeka, to unify Delta PDP has fallen flat.
A the time, Oborevwori, who spoke at Arenyeka’s thanksgiving service held at Avenue Baptist Church, Okumagba Avenue, Warri, Delta State, noted that the chairman’s humility, maturity and the love he earned from the people made him well-suited for the role.
The Governor also prayed that God would continue to strengthen the chairman and guide him “in uniting our great state and party.”
Oborevwori then added, “Your position is not just about administration, it is (also about) fostering unity within the state.
“Even today, we see members from across various divides, including the opposition, gathered here to celebrate with you. This is a testament to your leadership and the hope you bring to us all.
“As you take on this responsibility, know that you are carrying the aspirations of Delta State. By God’s grace, your leadership will lead us to greater heights, ensuring peace, progress, and prosperity.
“And together, as we look toward 2027, we trust that you will guide us to even greater accomplishments.”
” The PDP has continuously been on the path of self-destruction for a long time and it is due to the selfishness and greed of some officers who hold sensitive positions or responsibilities. They have mortgaged the future of the party”
Motivated by the Governor’s pep talk and prayers, Arenyeka is still trying to work his magic on the commotions and bad blood in the party, but it seems the downward spiral of the Delta PDP is proving difficult and irreversible.
At the last count, a number of big fries in the PDP have defected to the APC and as 2027 draws closer, many more are expected to ditch the ruling party in the State.
One month after Arenyeka took up his chairmanship duties, precisely in December 2024, Erhriatake Ibori-Suenu, the daughter of a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, unceremoniously left the PDP.
Ibori-Suenu is a member of the House of Representatives representing Ethiope Federal Constituency of Delta State, and she said that her resignation was due to her exclusion by the Delta State PDP.
And she did not go out in a blaze of glory alone. Suenu-Ibori led a mass defection from the PDP to the APC and analysts say her newfound names “Amazon of the Niger Delta” and “The bulldozer of Delta politics” are now justified.
It is, however, an open secret that Ibori-Suenu’s father, Ibori, fell out with his former ally and immediate Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, over the choice of flag bearer in the 2023 governorship election.
While Ibori rooted for David Edebvie, Okowa threw his weight behind Oborevwori who eventually won the party’s primary and after all was said and done, the two former Governors have not been able to mend their fractured relationship.
Perhaps, out of appreciation, Oborevwori has, to this day, remained loyal to Okowa, a former Vice Presidential candidate.
The Governor has been Okowa’s greatest cheerleader and did not hesitate to take sides when a former PDP politician from the State, Ned Nwoko, joined the issue with Okowa.
Nwoko, from Aniocha North LGA, is a Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District but he defected last week to the APC and analysts say that he was planning to get re-elected in 2027 but felt threatened that Okowa, also from Delta North, could be eyeing his seat.
When he was giving reasons for his defection, however, Nwoko partly blamed the disarray in the PDP.
“The PDP is in disarray. You can see the fights on television, you can see the crisis. We had hoped that the PDP would be a formidable opposition, but that has not been my experience in the last two years,” he said.
Moreover, Nwoko said that project implementation in the state did not favour his people because he was an opposition parliamentarian. He added that the agitation of his people for an Anioma State equally influenced his decision.
Interestingly, Nwoko’s defection means that all three Senators representing Delta State in the National Assembly, including Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta Central), and Joel Onowakpo Thomas (APC, Delta South) are now all members of the ruling party.
Now stronger in Delta State, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, when he received Nwoko at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, told the Senator that the PDP would be dislodged in the 2027 elections in the State.
“…we had two Senators before, two out of three. We had two fathers in the state, and now we have three Senators (fathers), three over three.
“If every Senator will go back to his constituency and work very hard, you know the outcome. As we promised, we will take over Delta State. We assure you of maximum cooperation,” Ganduje boasted.
As if all the inroads the Delta APC is making in Delta State are not enough, there had been speculations on social media that the Governor of the state had perfected plans to also defect to the APC.
Although the PDP in Delta State described the rumour as sinister, baseless and nothing more than the antics of mischief-makers and fifth columnists, questions about Oborevwori’s political future have continued to be a recurring decimal.
A political analyst, Damion Ugorji, told The Point about the state of Delta PDP, “It is the weakest I have ever seen of the PDP in Delta State.
“The party used to be dominant in the state, but current happenings there are saying all is not well.
“They have lost very influential politicians. Ned Nwoko is one of them. He was with the PDP for over twenty years and his departure was not envisaged at all.
“Nwoko is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Reparation and Repatriation, and he said he left the PDP because the leadership of the APC has assured him of the creation of Anioma State.
“Nwoko has also told us that he is more popular than Governor Oborevwori and I believe that if Anioma State is not created by 2027, he will win the APC primary ticket and challenge Oborevwori for the governorship seat.”
A former governorship candidate of the PDP in Edo State, Anselm Ojezua, said that the trouble with Delta State chapter of the PDP can be traced back to the leadership of the party at the national level.
He said, “The PDP has continuously been on the path of self-destruction for a long time and it is due to the selfishness and greed of some officers who hold sensitive positions or responsibilities. They have mortgaged the future of the party.
“Unfortunately, they did it with the connivance, conspiracy and support of the Governors who form the most strategic arm of any political party by reason of their position.
“I think the PDP is irretrievably gone. I don’t see it recovering. And every time you see them meet, they keep going from one problem into another, and that’s how they’re going to end up – self-destruct.
“There is nothing that is happening in the states that is not enabled by the centre.
“So, if national officers of the party, with the connivance of governors, sell off the soul of the party, can they now in all honesty come and complain that the party has no soul?”
Ojezua, who says he can no longer refer to himself as a member of the PDP, also had a few choice words for PDP Governors after he accused them of contributing to the party’s woes.
Ojezua said a closer look at each and every one of the PDP governors and their backgrounds would show that more than 70 percent of them are not politicians.
According to him, the majority of the Governors are either businessmen or stark opportunists who do not know how to lead.
He added, “They (PDP Governors) can’t keep friends, they are not loyal to their words. They don’t know that humility and loyalty are the most valuable assets a politician must have.”
Attempts to reach leaders of the PDP in Delta State for comments, however, proved abortive.