We didn’t know Oborevwori would kill PDP in Delta—Ijaw rights leader

By Osaro Michael, Benin

Reactions have continued to brew across Delta State over the controversial defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with many expressing shock and disappointment over the governor’s decision.

Ijaw born Niger Delta prominent rights activist, Comrade Austin Ozobo, took to his Facebook page to voice his shock and disappointment.

According to him, he felt betrayed by the governor’s move. His statement “It is no longer news about Governor Oborevwori’s defection to APC. It is sad. I never knew you (the governor) would kill PDP in Delta for personal gains,”

He further said every betrayer had his or her time of punishment, citing that PDP wasn’t dead in Delta State.

The aggrieved rights leader promised to address the press on next week Monday on the way forward in the state.

In related development, some PDP members who spoke under condition of anonymity expressed deep dismay, saying the governor’s action was a slap in the face of the party’s loyalists who toiled to see him elected.

“It’s unfortunate that the governor will just do this to a party that stood by him during his election travails. We wish him well sha,” one of them lamented.

Others said Governor Oborevwori could have remained in the PDP while aligning politically with President Bola Tinubu, as former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike had done. “Banking on any under-the-table agreement with the APC over 2027 is risky. They could shock him. You don’t rely on political promises for a second term,” one party faithful warned.

However, not all responses were critical. Former Organizing Secretary of the APC in Delta State, Sir Sunny Mene, welcomed the governor and his team into the APC fold, likening political parties to churches with open doors.

“Political parties are like churches—the gate is always open for new converts. The more, the merrier. As a leader of the APC in the state, I can only say that the governor and others are welcomed,” Mene said.

Governor Oborevwori’s defection, alongside that of his predecessor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and other key PDP stakeholders, marks a significant shift in Delta’s political landscape, leaving the once-dominant PDP in a state of uncertainty ahead of the 2027 elections.