For the old All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Delta State, led by the former Deputy Senate President (DSP), Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, their biggest surprise in the last nine calendar days is how the state governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori, managed to take over the party’s leadership in the state.
Omo-Agege and his followers were still pondering the real reasons Governor Oborevwori and his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, both new APC members, collapsed the structure of the once-dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, penultimate Wednesday, when the blunt reality dawned on them on Monday, April 28.
By the way, the Deputy Senate President in the 9th Senate, Omo-Agege, was the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 governorship polls. The ex-DSP had his eyes on the 2027 governorship elections, so Oborevwori’s joining the APC was akin to terminating his plan.
He did not wish, and never wanted, the sitting governor to sign up with the APC. As is already known, he did everything to block his entry.
However, the Monday defection in Asaba, the state capital, which President Tinubu described as “a political tsunami of unimaginable proportion,” turned out to be the coronation of Oborevwori as the new leader of the APC.
Omo-Agege was, to say the least, dumbfounded by the development, but the instructions were directly from Mr. President.
Futile attempts to stop Oborevwori
Having failed in his initial plan to halt Oborevwori and Okowa from joining the APC, publicly announced on April 23, Senator Omo-Agege shifted his battle to stopping the governor from becoming the leader of the party in the state, a position he held and greatly treasured until Monday.
President Tinubu, Senator Kashim Shettima, the Vice President, National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, and other APC leaders knew of his unprecedented prowess in capturing two senatorial seats and other elective positions for the APC in 2023, although he lost the governorship.
He had also been involved lately in repositioning the party for the 2027 elections in the state despite being embroiled in a cold war with other leaders.
While Omo-Agege leads a group, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo (SAN), heads the other division branded as the College of Leaders in the Delta State APC.
Senator Omo-Agege took the battle of who leads the party to the National Chairman of the APC, Ganduje, his friend, and other top shots of the party in Abuja.
He and his loyalists took advantage of the meeting of the Delta APC leaders, which the national leadership convened in Abuja last weekend, to stop Oborevwori from commandeering the party leadership from him in Delta State.
Sources said that the empathy of Ganduje and some other leaders on the issue was with Omo-Agege.
Some stakeholders from the state on Omo-Agege’s side wanted the question of who leads the party resolved before the meeting delved into welcoming Governor Oborevwori.
Tinubu knew the contentions as soon as they emanated. And that was why he contacted Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, to chair the meeting of national party leaders with the Delta APC leaders. He gave him briefs on how to handle it.
Governor Uzodinma told the Delta APC leaders that the meeting was to officially inform them that Oborevwori and the entire PDP structure were declaring for the APC on Monday.
He said they should return to base to welcome Oborevwori, Okowa, and the entire PDP in the state into the APC after debriefing them on the President’s instructions.
The Abuja meeting ended with no discussion on who leads the party, which was what Omo-Agege wanted. Thus, it was similar to delaying the Evil Day.
Omo-Agege decided to stay in Abuja and accompany the vice president on Monday, presumably to push more buttons before the Monday show, while many others went back to Delta State.
Unverified reports claimed that some APC frontrunners in Abuja advised Senator Omo-Agege to drop his attempt to remain the party’s leader because he could not lead the party with a sitting governor as a member of the party.
The only prominent APC member in the state to decline to congratulate Oborevwori three days after he declared his intention to join the APC defection, which he referred to as a movement, was Senator Omo-Agege.
But he (Omo-Agege) broke the ice on Sunday, 24 hours before the formal declaration on Monday, in a press statement he signed personally.
Part of the letter read, “The leadership of the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) warmly welcomes His Excellency, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, and all leaders and members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) into the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“This historic move underscores the success of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in driving growth and development in our country.
”In line with outcomes of deliberations with the national leadership of our party, the Progressive Governors’ Forum, and Delta APC stakeholders, I wish to assure all stakeholders that any issues arising from this development are being carefully considered and managed with prudence and foresight, in the best interests of our party and our beloved state.
”Let us embrace this development with unity, understanding, and a shared commitment to the progress of Delta State and Nigeria.
”In this renewed spirit of brotherhood in Delta APC, I urge all LGA and ward chairmen, their executives, party members, and our teeming supporters to turn out en masse for the welcome reception of our new members into the APC on Monday, April 28, 2025, in Asaba.
”This development reaffirms our commitment to progressive governance, promising a brighter future for our people and a more prosperous, secure, and united Nigeria. Together, we will work tirelessly to achieve greatness for Delta State and Nigeria.
“I also use this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his political sagacity and visionary leadership, the National Chairman and the entire National Working Committee of the APC for their unwavering support, and tireless efforts. May their efforts continue to yield positive outcomes for our great party.”
He signed the statement suspected to have been issued in Abuja as “Deputy President of the 9th Senate and Leader, APC Delta State.”
His claim and insistence on being the leader of the APC, Delta State, and paragraph two of his statement were pointers that he was not yet prepared to accept Oborevwori’s takeover of the party.
He pointed out that issues concerning the governor’s joining the APC were being carefully considered by the party. His voice conveyed that the party was still undecided.
Tinubu’s speech was read by the Vice President in Asaba, but the politician who accompanied him on the plane was unaware of its contents.
Keyamo, the stormtrooper
Meanwhile, Keyamo, the leader of an APC faction in the state, who never hid his admiration for Oborevwori, led the three senators of the party, to wit Senator Ned Nwoko, representing the Delta North senatorial district, who resigned from the PDP in January; Senator Ede Dafinone, Delta Central; and Senator Joel-Onowakpo, Delta South, on Sunday to Asaba to celebrate Oborevwori as the unquestionable leader of the party.
Other Delta APC leaders in the entourage were Rt. Hon. Ejiroghene Waive, representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South, and Udu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives; the executive director (Business Development) of NEXIM Bank and former national woman leader of APC, Stella Okotete; and an ex-House of Representatives member, Hon. Doris Uboh.
Keyamo, who broke the calabash at the consultation, said the Delta APC leaders have accepted Oborevwori unconditionally as the APC leader in the state, which was contrary to Omo-Agege’s claim the same day that he was leader of the party.
Keyamo’s words: “These are the gatekeepers of the APC in Delta State. Outside this group, there is no APC in Delta State. If any person tells you otherwise, the person must be a comedian.”
”We are here to wholeheartedly, 100 percent, welcome you to the APC. We welcome you unconditionally. I repeat, sir, we welcome you unconditionally. It is a blessing to us, a blessing to the state, and a blessing to Mr. President that Delta State is now aligned with the ruling party at the center.
”As our leader, undisputed leader (Nwoko, Dafinone, Onowakpo, Waive, and every other member of the delegation clapped), we wholeheartedly surrender to your leadership and ask for direction.
”Where you say we go, we’ll go, and where you say we don’t go, we will not go. That is the state of things today; there is no division after today; it is blended as one in Delta State, and we have wholeheartedly accepted your MORE agenda as our agenda.
”And if you look at the content of the MORE agenda, sir, it is the same thing as the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.”
Senator Nwoko’s attendance at the meeting indicated that he had bowed to Oborevwori’s leadership in the new APC, which was different from his previous position with Omo-Agege.
Tinubu’s 43-word bombshell
While Governor Uzodinma and nine other APC governors arrived in Asaba on Sunday and spent the night for the next day’s event, seven other APC governors came on Monday.
As stated earlier, Senator Omo-Agege flew with the Vice President, Shettima, not knowing the content of the President’s speech in the Vice President’s possession.
But Oborevwori and Okowa knew what they negotiated and signed.
After the niceties, praising Oborevwori and Okowa for the mind-boggling collapse of the PDP, and finding a nest in the APC, Shettima, who spoke for President Tinubu, dropped a 43-word sentence that made nonsense of any further claim to the leadership of the party in the state by the Obarisi of Urhobo land.
He said, “Now that you (referring to Oborevwori, Okowa, and others) have come, we are all co-owners because, according to the constitution of the party, the governor is the leader of the party in the state. This is now as much your party as it is ours.”
Obarisi Omo-Agege’s mien did not betray his feelings on the podium where he sat, but expectedly, it would not have gone well with him.
However, the party’s undeniable leader, Mr. President, has spoken. In the APC, his word is essentially the law.
OBOREVWORI: I am the leader
Governor Oborevwori, encouraged by the president’s speech, stated, “There are some things that people say in newspapers, that there is confusion, there is a faction in Delta APC.”
Before he let out his stinker, he said, “As I have come (joined the APC), there will be no faction again.” Let me tell you,” he yelled, “the governor is in charge, and we are taking charge.
“I don’t believe in any faction, whether the Omo-Agege or Keyamo faction; everybody must queue, and we will unite the party to move this state forward for the benefit of our people and to bring development, peace, and unity to our state and Nigeria.”
Senator Okowa, standing behind him as he spoke, smiled and quietly cheered.
Omo-Agege simmers down
At this stage, Omo-Agege knew there was nothing he could do to stop Oborevwori, for Tinubu had spoken.
It was not, therefore, surprising that Ovie Omo-Agege, at the defection ground on the same day, embraced Oborevwori as the new leader of the party in the state.
The governor, Okowa, Omo-Agege, and Keyamo took a group photograph currently trending on social media, signposting that they have all reunited.
The governor raised both Omo-Agege’s and Keyamo’s hands at the same time as a sign of victory for all—no victor, no vanquished.
An APC leader said, “The next step would have been to frustrate Oborevwori and Okowa, using the state structure solidly in Omo-Agege’s control to stop the governor from picking the APC governorship ticket in the 2022 primaries. That could have happened if things were not sorted out.
”But with Oborevwori as the leader of the APC and Okowa behind him, it is clear that at the next ward congress, the governor will erect his structure to entrench himself, which is what he will use to run the party.
“Being the new leader of the party, every other person will queue behind him, so there is no need to fight him anymore since the president has approved his leadership,” he said.
An excited Governor Oborevwori posted on his Facebook page, “Today, I, along with the entire structure of Delta State PDP from the ward to the state level, have moved en masse to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a well-attended ceremony at the Cenotaph, Asaba.
”At the event, I assured Mr. President, who was represented by the Vice President, His Excellency Senator Kashim Shettima (GCON), that as the leader of APC in the state, the unity of our party is paramount as we work together for the best interests of the people of Delta State.
”Let me also take this opportunity to appreciate our national chairman, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, and my brother governors who came in large numbers to receive this great multitude of Deltans who are now members of the APC. This is the show of love and solidarity our country needs to foster progress.”
“Today, I joined His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, along with other governors, to warmly welcome Governor Sheriff Oborevwori into the progressive family of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” Omo-Agege continued in a similar post.
Okowa’s nifty spadework
Informed party leaders attributed how the PDP in Delta State crumbled and unburdened into the APC without Oborevwori losing his status and smoothly taking over the leadership of the APC to the sagacity of ex-governor Okowa, who tinkered with the process.
Senator Okowa’s influence has soared with the way he handled the PDAPC’s new order in the state.
President Tinubu, who supervised the negotiations, praised Okowa’s remarkable ability to organize what seemed to be complex issues in a methodical manner.
The Vice President, Shettima, speaking for Tinubu in Asaba, said, “I would like to express my gratitude to Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for the exceptional relationship he has with his successor.”
“Senator Okowa, you are indeed a great leader, and Governor Oborevwori, for embracing him, for treating him with respect and decorum, you are an even greater leader.”
National Chairman of the APC, Ganduje, also recognized Okowa’s starring role in the affair and commended the affable bond between him and the governor.
He asserted that the National Working Committee (NWC) was deeply impressed by the cordial relationship between the predecessor and successor, which is unusual in the country.
Obarisi fought gallantly
If anybody thinks that Senator Omo-Agege lost out in the unfolding event, he must be mistaken, for the Obarisi of Urhobo fought gallantly.
He remains a highly regarded leader of the party, known for his managerial ability in the face of storms.
Obarisi is one politician who bulldozes the political terrain without fear and usually does not give his opponents the chance to strike back after overwhelming them.
He likes fighting his political opponents into submission, a characteristic of Tinubu, the Jagaban.
Some party leaders hinted that President Tinubu would reward Omo-Agege for his troubles and doggedness for the APC in Delta State. But only the president can speak on his plans for the Obarisi.
Oborevwori, who regards the Obarisi as his friend, knows that he is a leader whose interests and suggestions regarding the progress of the APC in the state should not be nonchalantly dismissed.
The new APC leader is aware that Omo-Agege is entitled to some patronage from him as governor, including considering his preferred candidates in certain areas and other honors.
He also knows that his entry into the APC means that Omo-Agege may not contest the 2027 governorship on the party’s platform because of him (Oborevwori).
That practically means that after his second tenure in 2031, it will take another 16 years for the governorship of the state to rotate to the Delta Central district, which he and Omo-Agege hail from.
Except there is a change of the ongoing political arrangement that Ibori and other leaders helped to establish in the state, the Delta South senatorial district is supposed to field the next governor in 2031, while the Delta North senatorial district follows in 2039.
Which is to say that the governorship will get to the turn of Delta Central again in 2047 if Oborevwori serves two tenures.
© 2025 Vanguard Media Limited, Nigeria
