These are interesting times in the political affairs of Delta state. For the first time since the beginning of the fourth republic, politics has assumed such a degree of unpredictability that one cannot even place a finger on what lies ahead. 2027 is two years away, yet the political scene is in a grave frenzy. For the first time, a sitting governor in Delta state had to abandon the political party that had brought him to power for another.
Two senators have since left the PDP for the opposition APC. The seven APC House of Assembly members,earlier starved of their entitlement by the speaker are suddenly turning into beautiful brides over the changing tides. None is considering defection to the ruling party. Rather, the media had been awash with speculations associating Governor Sheriff Oborevwori with possible defection to the APC. The governors of Enugu, Akwa-Ibom and the suspended governor of Rivers state are also being touted as having surrendered to the Tinubu effect.
Then on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, it happened. The entire PDP structure collapsed into the APC in Delta State. The Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, former Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa,Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guwor, State PDP Chairman,Solomon Arenyeka and all political leaders in the state including the likes of Senator Ighoyota Amori, who boasted of being PDP than PDP, dropped pride and shame to embrace the APC, which they have derided over the years as the coven of evil and wickedness in Nigeria. Isn’t politics wonderful?
The drama in the political scene is further exacerbated by the stiff resistance to the defection of the governor to the APC by a section of party leaders. In Kano State, some APC leaders are also posing a strong resistance to the impending defection of the National Leader of the NNPP, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to the ruling party at the nation’s seat of power. What could be the reason for the uncertainty in the polity? And why would a political party resist the embrace of a sitting governor?
The answer lies in what is called political interests. Everything is about interest, political survival and has nothing to do with the people. The plans to defect and the resistance to defections are fueled by interests. The people are simply pawns in this game. They will come with sweet tales of a superior welfare package for the people. But they are all fairy tales. The people are not factors in the equation. The interests of the politicians are what drive the entire narrative.
People are attributing the uncertainty in the system to the mystic of the Tinubu political effect. The man knows the game through and through. So much is happening across Nigeria. Just as Northern Nigeria political leaders are ganging up against the re-election of Mr President, the man being a master of the game is also consolidating southern Nigeria behind him. The seismic shift taking place in the system is a reaction to the Tinubu effect. The man sure knows what he is doing, and soon, Nigeria will know the true import of the word, Jagaban!
The meeting that took place in the government house, Asaba, on Wednesday is a harbinger of what to expect in the weeks and months ahead. One thing is sure: Sheriff Oborevwori has moved on and will not contest his re-election on the PDP platform. He was emphatic when he declared before top government officials on Wednesday that, ‘’I am leaving the PDP. I will announce my new party in a moment. We must move together as one’’. I think that should be enough for the wise. Other than this open admission of defection after several months of denial, he held a private meeting with some key government officials where the marching order was given for all to defect and embrace the APC by Monday, April 28 when the governor would be received into the APC fold or resign.
Even the Prince of Ika politics, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has also announced his intention to join a new political party before the big meeting. Whatever happens from now going forward, the fact remains that a major shift in political allegiance has taken place in Delta state. Prior to the 2023 general election, no soothsayer would have predicted correctly that a time would come in 2025 when PDP governors would consider abandoning the party that brought them to power for another political party, all because of Jagaban. But this is the reality before our very eyes. The meeting in government house with council chairmen, commissioners,board chairmen and other top government officials in attendance confirms that something bigger than the rat has entered the hole.
In all these, one man who must take credit for bringing the PDP to her knees is Nyesom Wike. Hate him or love him, the man sure knows the game. Fubara is already negotiating his way back to power and the APC, which he rebuffed earlier. While Atiku and some northern power brokers may be leveraging on the demographic advantage of northern Nigeria, Tinubu is rallying the south together and also deploying his incumbent powers to wield the big stick against recalcitrant power mongers in order to keep everybody in check.
Nigeria is entering a new phase in its democratic journey. We now have a president who sure knows how to use power. Tinubu is not Goodluck Jonathan. The north knows this, hence the talk of a coalition against Bola Ahmed Tinubu. However, the SDP, which the Coalition intended to use as the anti-Tinubu platform, is already singing a different song. The 2027 election is coming so early, and those who fail to align on time will be lost in the middle of the sea without a compass.
The political dynamics ofthe 2027 polls can make the feeble-minded run mad. Hon Evang. Michael Diden, aka Ejele, Chief Askiah Ogieh and the former DOP, Ifeanyi Egoigbe are all in line for the new reality. The deal Governor Sheriff Oborevwori struck is meant to secure his political future. While there are insinuations to the effect that he could be betrayed in the long run, the odds are in his favour. Joining the APC will bring him closer to the seat of power. The presidency will not toy with any sitting governor, considering the game northern Nigeria is playing.
For the first time in the history of Delta State, nobody is sure of what is in the bag. There is none whose political future is cast in stone. Everybody is stepping onto slippery ground. Even the governor became unsure of re-election under the PDP because Tinubu is not leaving anything to chance. He is telling his men in blunt terms that he is not ready to vacate Aso Rock until 2031. Only those who will travel with him on that journey would be considered friends and worthy of support from the Villa. 2027 will be the year of real politics. Not all politicians will survive it. The coalition behind Atiku will be weighed down by the cross of a northern presidential candidate. The south will not play the fool for north again as they did with Jonathan in 2015. Nigeria belongs to everybody.
I am glad that, for once,many political actors have been made to eat their vomit. The boastful ones are worst hit by the unfolding tsunami. The boast about Delta is PDP, and PDP is Delta has been eclipsed in broad daylight. Delta is now fully APC. The likes of Amadu Ali and Vincent Ogbulafor, former National Chairmen of PDP who once boasted that PDP would rule Nigeria for 60 years, should be turning in their graves at the sudden turn of events. The party they thought was invincible has shrunk beyond recognition.
Two men have won my respect and admiration ahead of 2027. They are President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister. These men know the game. They have played their cards very well. Only the naïve and those destined for destruction will cross their paths ahead of the coming elections. Another man that must take credit for his bravery Is Rt Revd Hon Francis Ejiroghene Waive. He took a great risk which has paid off finally.
By Annabel Ogheneganre is based in Abuja.
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