As the defection from Delta State, one of the traditional strongholds of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continues to stir debates in the polity, President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, said a political tsunami which saw Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and the PDP structure defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, has never happened in the country.
He spoke on a day former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, dismissed the relevance of high-profile defection of politicians, describing same as widely exaggerated and doesn’t add any electoral value.
Tinubu’s declaration came at the official defection of Governor Oborevwori and other PDP members in the state to the APC held at the Cenotaph in Asaba, Delta State.
The defections of Oborevwori, Okowa and other major PDP stakeholders ended the almost 26-year reign of the party in the state.
Among those present to receive the decampees were Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President; National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje; Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Bassey Otu (Cross-River), Monday Okphebholo (Edo), Ahmed Ododo (Kogi), Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Dikko Radda (Kastina) and Mohammed Yahaya (Gombe).
Also present were former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo; Senators Ned Nwoko, Joel Onowakpo-Thomas and Ede Dafinone, among others.
Addressing the crowd, Tinubu said: “What can be greater than the promise of this day? This is a political tsunami of unimaginable proportions that has never happened in the history of the South-South and this country.
“A political tsunami of this proportion, where all the members of the upper chamber of the National Assembly are in the APC, has never happened.
“So many members of the House of Representatives, the governor, his entire cabinet and 500 councillors across the 25 local government areas of this great state. What testimony do you have greater than this?
“The true measure of a political party lies not merely in the industry, the very name of its members, but in the conviction. It is, in fact, among those who once stood across from them.
“This vindication is even more fundamental when those who once saw us as outsiders and opponents crossed the lines of difference to become part of the enduring family we have built. “
He commended the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for the “wonderful” relationship that existed between him and his successor, describing him as a great leader.
While justifying his movement to the APC, Governor Oborevwori said the movement was not only for them in Delta State.
Oborevwori, who was quick to add that other opposition governors will soon join the APC, said: “It is a statement and I believe that other governors will join. It is a movement and when you have a movement, you cannot fail.
“This is Delta State; Delta cannot carry last. We have been in opposition for almost 10 years; do we need that? Mr. President has supported us, he has shown us love; we cannot face him in 2027 and work against him.
“That love that he has shown to us in Delta State, we must reciprocate. We cannot do that in our old party, we have to be inside to do it and do it well.”
The governor also doused speculations that the APC in Delta State was factionalised.
“I want to assure our national chairman because there are things people say in the newspapers, that there is confusion and faction. As I have come, there will be no more faction again.
“Let me tell you, APC is not like PDP. Let me tell you, the governor takes charge and we are taking charge. Whether the faction of Ovie Omo-Agege or that of Festus Keyamo, I don’t believe in any faction.
‘’Everybody must queue and unite to move the state forward for the benefit of the state and bring development and peace to Delta State and Nigeria.”
In his remarks, immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, said their decision to dump the PDP for APC is for the common good of the people.
He explained that his defection to the APC was motivated by the desire to connect the state to the seat of power in Abuja.
Okowa said: “When the news broke on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, that we have decided to change our path, people wondered why.
“One thing is very important in the history of a people; there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people and whatever decision we took was based on that common good and the need to change our path in the interest of the state
“As I did tell people on that day, it was not about me; it was not about the governor but the fact that there is need for us to connect to Abuja. That goodwill that we see in Abuja to which Delta State is a large contributor, there is a need to connect to it.”
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