Benjamin Mokwunye
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” – Jean-Baptist Alphonse Karr
One can say with a measure of certainty that the recent realignment and political defections in Delta State could be the shape of things to come in the politics of this oil-rich state. Without doubt, Nigeria has had a history of different defections by politicians from one party to the other over the years. Based on our political culture, the trend will certainly continue in the coming years. However, the gale of defections by party members from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Party, APC in Delta State, is troubling. To say that members of the PDP go to sleep every night with one eye closed in their precariousness today is to put it mildly.
The truth is that the PDP is running out of steam, even with Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as a sitting governor n Delta State. Infighting is rife in PDP, a party that has governed Delta State since 1999, and once boasted that it would dominate Nigerian politics for sixty years. This fact is incontestable. A crack in the party became noticeable after the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2023 National Assembly (Senatorial) election that gave the APC two out of the three seats from Delta State. In fact, PDP was in shock when the APC took over Delta Central and Delta South. But the outcome of that National Assembly election also marked a defining moment for the APC as the result showed the party’s resolve and newfound courage and faith in overrunning Delta State. From the look of things, the coming victory for APC is already within touching distance.
For me, it will be uncharitable to describe APC’s resounding victory at the polls in Delta State as an overnight success. This is because for many years, prominent party faithful like Olorugun O’tega Emerhor and other like-minded party men and women worked very hard to deliver the goods. But one man, who stands out in the party’s remarkable political inroads, is Ovie Omo-Agege. The courage and efforts of this lawyer, sharp-witted politician, former Deputy President of the Senate of Nigeria and APC’s governorship candidate in the last governorship election in the state, took the party’s politics to new heights.
Recently, Omo-Agege informed the nation that nearly a dozen PDP parliamentarians are set to join the APC. “A major realignment in the power structure of the Delta State House of Assembly is looming as 10 lawmakers are set to dump PDP for APC”. Omo-Agege who described APC’s remarkable gains so far as a direct by-product of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sound economic policies, believes strongly that PDP will soon be history in Delta State politics from the look of things.
The irony in PDP’s internal political disagreement, driven by unbridled ambition, sit-tight mentality and differing believes, is that Senator Nwoko has also dumped the party for the APC. Nwoko, who, for nearly two years, acted as PDP’s saving grace by holding the third leg of the state’s senatorial tripod in the National Assembly in Abuja finally defected to the APC a few weeks ago. But Senator Nwoko is not the only former PDP political heavyweight that recently abandoned ship in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. Dr. Chris Okobah, a former chieftain of the PDP from Onicha-Ugbo in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State has also joined the APC. Okobah is upbeat about his decision, and he has resolved to take as many people as possible to his new party. Hear him: “I believe the APC will bring unprecedented dividends of democracy to the Onicha-Ugbo community…it is a new dawn for the community because the interest of the people would be brought to the front burner of conversation at the highest level. Therefore, I want to charge the people of the community to close ranks and move en mass to the APC, and take advantage of the different opportunities being provided by the senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Senator Ned Nwoko to empower themselves economically.”
But before the earth-shaking news of defections in different parts of Delta North, there had also been related stories in both the Delta Centra and Delta South. And this is instructive. For instance, the defection of Hon. Ehriatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of the former governor of the state who represents Ethiope Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives shook the foundations of PDP. Her movement from PDP to APC did not only rattle the ruling party in Delta State, it also came with widespread political uncertainties. But the icing on the cake for the APC is that Chief James Ibori’s daughter’s defection has placed the PDP on notice about what is to come.
PDP’s unending travails in Delta State were further compounded by Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai on February 20, 2025 when the former lawmaker joined the APC with his supporters from three local government areas. Ossai, the immediate past (three times) House of Representatives member from Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency, has officially declared for the APC. From the look of things, more PDP members are already preparing to decamp, and this has sent many people in the party into a panic mode.
The fear in a shift in leadership and other uncertainties in the PDP have naturally led to a massive and contentious vote of confidence on the governor, not just in Delta North where Nwoko and Okobah hail from, but in nearly every nook and cranny of the state. There has also been a flurry of political appointments to deflate the growing tension and anxiety occasioned by the rising profile of the APC in Delta State.
But APC’s biggest jackpot ahead of 2027 governorship election in Delta State is what is now called “The Ibori Factor”. Chief James Onanefe Ibori, a member of Class of Nigerian governors between 1999 and 2003, is leveraging the privilege of having his ‘classmate’ as Nigeria’s president today. Ibori, who is already APC in spirit, from all indications, will leave no stone unturned to make David Edevbie, his friend and political associate, governor of Delta State through the APC ticket that is within stone’s throw. However, the flipside of this developing political story with regard to Ibori’s influence and resurgence of interest in who becomes governor of Delta State is that it will come at a very high price.
In advance of 2027, it is obvious that the battle lines have already been drawn between the Ibori and his all-powerful group and Omo-Agege who has not enjoyed any meaningful patronage from the Tinubu-led administration for obvious reasons. Ibori, who has always enjoyed a rock star image in Delta State politics, even in his worst times, will be squaring with Omo-Agege, a man many consider a paperweight in the impending final war for relevance and position in the state. However, there are those who believe that Omo-Agege, regardless of Ibori’s heavy clout, will not be a walkover because of his pioneering efforts in the APC. My take on the whole issue, even as an interested party is that as APC and its members approach the coming election in Delta State, they should tread softly to avoid risking it all.
It is evident that the interest on both sides sets the stage for an epic political battle that has only just begun. Who wins? And in an event of a stalemate, what becomes of APC in Delta State after all the hard work and relative progress? This is the million-dollar question.
*Mokwunye, a lawyer and public affairs analyst, lives in Lagos.
