Defection: VP Shettima to Officially Receive Governor Oborevwori, Delta PDP into APC on April 28

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State at a high-level meeting on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, unanimously agreed to join Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The formal reception is scheduled for Monday, April 28, 2025, at a grand rally to be hosted by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Cenotaph in Asaba.

The political shift, announced shortly after the enlarged meeting, marks a major realignment in Delta State’s political landscape. Governor Oborevwori, alongside top government officials and party leaders, declared their resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following consultations with stakeholders across the state.

Speaking during the meeting at Government House, Asaba, pioneer Chairman of the PDP in Delta, Senator James Manager, emphasized the weight of the decision: “You have just been told about some of the things that have been happening in the PDP Delta State. Some consultations have been going on and the climax of these consultations is what you are seeing today,” he said.

“We have discussed and have disagreed to agree and it is a unanimous agreement. I am the pioneer state chairman of the PDP. But you cannot be in a boat that is already capsizing because I am a riverine man,” he continued.

“Looking at issues the way they are, we have come to the inevitable conclusion to do something else. It is a collective decision for so many reasons.”

Manager pointed to a recent resolution by the PDP Governors’ Forum as a tipping point: “A few days ago, there was a resolution taken by the PDP Governors’ Forum at Ibadan. Almost all the Governors were there and they resolved that they are not going into coalition with any other party. But as disadvantaged as the PDP is now with about 11 Governors, how do you go into a contest with an incumbent president? You think you can win? That particular resolution killed the spirit of so many PDP members.”

He also highlighted instability within the party leadership: “Today Senator Anyanwu is the National Secretary of the party, tomorrow it’s another person. The party must be positioned to go into an election to win. So you see that it is becoming very funny. The PDP is truly in trouble.”

Manager confirmed that the decision had the support of all key figures: “If you look well, the current PDP state chairman was in the meeting, the governor was there, the Deputy Governor, the immediate past governor, the Speaker. All of these persons were in the meeting. National Assembly members and even the House of Assembly members. The who is who in Delta State was in the meeting to make this decision.”

Adding to the rationale for the defection, Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, noted that the decision followed “unfortunate happenings at the national level of the party.”

“For some time now, the media, particularly the social media, have been awash as to what political decisions we are going to be taking in Delta,” Aniagwu said. “While that was on, the governor and the leaders of the party have been very busy carrying out some necessary consultations, and it is part of that consultation that has resulted in this meeting today.”

He used a vivid metaphor to describe the shift: “It is said that when the taste of the palm wine changes, the drinking pattern also changes. And the leaders of the party were unanimous in their view that the political temperature has changed.”

“There was a need for change that will help cement the development in our state; to build the bond of love that has existed in our state and to further advance the security and welfare of our people.”

Aniagwu stressed the local nature of the move, saying: “Every politics is local. So in taking this decision, we came to the inevitable conclusion that moving out of the PDP is very necessary for us to collaborate with our kith and kin and build that bond that we have been enjoying.”

“We believe that what is happening in the PDP at the national can be likened to that palm wine whose taste has changed and that is why this decision has been taken.”

He concluded by reaffirming their commitment: “By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we would be able to make a bold statement that we are moving to the APC.”

This move is expected to significantly reshape the South-South political landscape, potentially adding Delta’s estimated 1.4 million votes to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election base.

Present at the pivotal meeting were the State Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme; immediate past Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; members of the National Assembly; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Guwor; members of the State House of Assembly; Commissioners; Local Government Chairmen; and numerous party leaders and stakeholders.