President Bola Tinubu has described as the greatest political tsunami ever witnessed in Nigeria the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and his predecessor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, during the official reception of the governor, Okowa, and the entire PDP structure in the state today in Asaba, stated that never before has any governor in the country defected to another party with the entire structure of his former party — from ward to state and national levels, including elected and appointed officers — following suit.
The President immediately urged the duo and their teeming followers not to see themselves as tenants in the APC but as co-owners of the party in the project-Nigeria.
He was supported by the National Chairman of the APC, Suleiman Ganduje; the Senior Special Adviser to the President; the Governor of Kwara State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum; and the chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma.
“It happened to be the first of its kind that a full house would be collapsed into another party,” he said.
He hailed the governor for what he described as “a bold step” and commended Okowa, who was the 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, for his cordial relationship with his successor.
Shettima said: “From what you have been doing since you assumed office, which we have seen, you have been a progressive Governor. This your official defection has made you the leader of the party in the state. You are not tenants in the party but co-owners and together we shall be a Nigeria of our dream.”
Ganduje described the defection to the APC as not only historic but patriotic, positioning the state for optimum performance.
Governor Oborevwori, in his speech, said the oil-rich state could no longer afford to remain in opposition and described his defection to the APC as a “patriotic movement in the best interest of the state.”
He vowed to do everything within his power to resolve the grievances within the new APC family.
Former Governor Okowa also stated that he had not made any mistake in defecting to the APC, noting that the state had, for over ten years, played second fiddle at the national level, despite being the eagle laying the golden eggs for the nation’s economy.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, the former Deputy Senate President, Chief Ovie Omo-Agege, and other dignitaries were present at the occasion.
