By Fidelis Egugbo
FLOWERBUDNEWS: Politics is about strength, and it is a fact that the end of an election is the beginning of another. This is largely because, at the end of every election, all the political players, whether winners or losers, return to the drawing board to analyze what either gave them victory or caused their loss, and, by such engagement, commence preparations for future elections, especially in a democratic setting where the schedules of elections are certain.
One could still recall vividly that during the 2023 general elections, like a tsunami, the “Obedient Movement” of Labour Party came on board just like the “Change” mantra of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that jolted the Nigerian political landscape in 2015. In all, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained the target.
As things stand at the moment, the PDP is obviously the only political party that has survived the onslaught of political upheavals since the emergence of the present democracy in 1999. Every other political party has either gone into extinction, merged or had their names changed. As such, the PDP is the only political party that is giving hope to Nigerians that democracy will survive, that is if anti-democratic forces do not succeed in crippling it as could be seen from the recent revocation of its Certificate of Occupancy regarding its landed property in Abuja, and the unspoken ongoing antics aimed, possibly, at ensuring that it does not function in some parts of the country.
There is no doubt that the existence of the PDP will continue to pose a threat to anti-democratic forces because of its ideals and its umbrella stature of welcoming all Nigerians who are interested in sustaining the country’s civil rule. Time really shall tell as we move towards the 2027 general elections.
One state that the PDP can authoritatively lay claim to as its own is Delta . Right from its formative stages by the likes of Senator Nosike Ikpo, Chief Francis Nwajei, Senator Patrick Osakwe, Sen. Fred Brume, Sen. Stella Omu and others, to the emergence of Chief James Onanefe Ibori as the Governor of Delta State in 1999 (following the haste with which the last military junta led by General Abdusalami Abubakar insisted on leaving office and handing over to a civilian administration), the PDP has remained very strong in the state.
In fact, no other political party is functioning effectively in Delta State.
Chief James Ibori, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, Chief Benjamin Elue, Chief Godwill Obielum, Chief Emma Ejiofor, Sen. James Manager, Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi and several others who have played active roles in the party, many of whom are still playing roles in the party will never want the political party that gave them the platform to be recognized as active politicians to die; it is just not possible.
Before now, what we used to witness in the PDP Delta State was that before the general elections, the primaries of the party to produce who emerges as its candidate for any election were always tougher than the general elections, simply because, whoever emerged as the PDP candidate would, almost always, eventually emerge victorious in the main elections. In some cases, the leadership of the party, out of magnanimity for full semblance of representative democracy, allowed some candidates to win in other political parties like the Justice Party, “ACCORDINGLY” for there to be minority leaders and so forth. But in all, by the arrangement within the PDP, democracy in Delta State is simply a family affair and a model for other states to emulate.
Today, we have heard about some persons moving to other political parties, especially, moving from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC); to some of us event watchers, such movements are not new. The Senator representing Delta North today at the Red Chambers, Sen. Ned Nwoko, has severally contested the primaries of the PDP and whenever he lost the election, he would go and try his luck on another political party’s platform and still return to the PDP.
Luckily for him, after several movements from one party to the other, he emerged a Senator on the platform of the PDP; no doubt, he will have to return to the PDP to enable him get reelected to the Senate if he desires that.
One cannot forget in a haste one of the Delta North Senatorial Primaries of the PDP held at the Oshimili Arcade, Asaba, where Sen. Nwoko was a great opponent of Senator Patrick Osakwe. Osakwe was a maverick politician as a renowned promoter of pools betting (Flash Pools), astute businessman, and multi-millionaire with tentacles spread across aviation sports, agriculture, (he was the owner of Flash Airline, Flash Flamingos Football Club, Evidence Motors, Evidence Farms, Nsukwa), hospitality business, among others. During the primaries, there was an issue of someone illegally bringing a gun (or did I hear you say, guns? ) to the venue, thus triggering panic. But, thank God that nothing untoward happened.
The beauty of democracy is that at the end, Senator Osakwe was returned to the Senate by the people of Delta North.
Time may not be enough to look at the political antecedents of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru whom then Governor James Ibori of PDP organized a lavish reception for as a true Deltan and, because of the reception, some people convinced him that he was so popular that he could become the Governor of Delta State (if he contested the governorship poll and against his benefactor, Chief James Ibori) which made him to pitch tent with the Alliance for Democracy (AD), a platform that gave then Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu the governorship ticket of Lagos State.
With time, we will x-ray how many political parties that Chief Great Ogboru has used as platforms to pursue that elusive dream of becoming the Governor of Delta State which may put him in the Guinness Book of Records as the man who lost the most governorship elections on the tickets of different political parties in Nigeria. But for fate which made Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC to get victory against Sen. Ighoyota Amori of the PDP through the court, maybe Chief Ogboru could have vied the position of who lost elections the most using different political platforms with Sen. Omo-Agege. And what a contest that could have been!
Well, that again, is the beauty of democracy in Delta State where you move to other political parties to be beaten at the polls by candidates of the PDP.
Today, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori is the Governor of Delta State; he did not emerge because he was loved by all Deltans or that he is the most hated politician in the state but because, he survived the gubernatorial primaries of the PDP as entrenched through the era of Chief James Ibori. Yes! Most of us may still recall how Chief James Ibori of the PDP battled Mr Moses Kragha of the All Peoples Party (APP) to emerge Governor in 1999. It was because of the fact that he belongs to the PDP, which is entrenched at the grassroot.
Chief James Ibori, certainly, will be happy that someone whom he discovered politically, (Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori) has become the Governor of Delta State and he is performing very well because of the tutelage he got from him, his successor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and a member of his political family, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, before his emergence as the Governor of Delta State.
In all the three administrations before him, Rt. Hon. Oborevwori held several key positions in government which prepared him for the effective management of the state that he is doing today.
Some of those political gladiators who are leaving the PDP for other political parties are mainly doing so for either “stomach infrastructure,” or to hustle, as we say in our local parlance, not really because they hope to unseat the PDP as the dominant political party in Delta State. This is why after their sojourn in other political parties, they will return to the PDP, their political family that always provides the umbrella cover for them.
Some people have linked the warm relationship between Chief Ibori and President Bola Tinubu as what can upturn the fortunes of the PDP in the state. Regarding this, one can only but smile because, both Ibori and Tinubu were Governors from 1999 to 2007; so, in a lot of ways, they were colleagues and who will not be happy to associate with someone who has risen to the peak of politics in Nigeria when you share a common history? The truth is that both of them are also happy with the stable polity in Delta State and President Tinubu is aware of how strong the PDP is in Delta, bearing in mind how he tried to expand the Alliance for Democracy (AD) through Chief Great Ogboru in the 2003 elections. Anyway, as a democrat, the President will always allow Deltans to freely vote for their preferred persons, most probably PDP candidates, but that will not stop him from patronizing Deltans in terms of political patronage as a true democrat.
This is so because, even in Delta, after the emergence of Rt. Hon. Oborevwori as Governor, he is no longer playing party politics but delivering democratic dividends to all Deltans, including giving political appointments and other patronage to people who were perceived to be political opponents. The time for opposition politics is over as he has emerged as the Governor of Delta State, not the Governor of the PDP. So, he will be happy to also consult those who provided the ladder for him to climb politically, Chief James Ibori, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, Sen. Dr. Okowa, among others. When these men meet to take decision about the affairs of Delta State, most of us may not be there but the most important thing is that they can only be proud of what Governor Oborevwori is doing in terms of transforming the fortunes of the state. Come to think of it, who will not be happy that his son has emerged King? This is because if you are the father of the King, it is also, natural that you accord him that respect as King. This is why Delta is stable, peaceful, and progressive without so much fighting among the political leaders, who, in a lot of ways, know themselves.
Despite the fact that Deltans have accepted the fact that whoever the PDP fields as its candidate in any election, will naturally earn their thumbprint, the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, FCA, in a rare move, led members of the PDP who are holding elective and appointive positions in Ndokwa West to move round all the wards/communities in the loca government on a “thank you visit.”
The three -day visit, which ended on Saturday, March 22, 2025 could be described as a show of strength, especially, with the display of letters by few individuals about their resignation from the PDP. As stated earlier, such display of letters was to boost their profile to get patronage from the All Progressives Congress (APC) either at the national level or the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); otherwise, hardly is it possible for a politician who is not holding any political office to be brandishing a letter of resignation from a political party on the social media. The letters of resignation could be termed, “application letter for political patronage by APC.”
During the visits by Sir Onyeme and his team, one message that was very obvious was that PDP is still very much on ground with the crowd that came out to receive them. From Ogume where they commenced their visit to Onicha-Ukwuani, to Abbi, Emu, Utagba-Ogbe (Kwale), to Utagba-Uno, Etua and Ndemili, the message was the same- Delta, especially, Ndokwa West is home of the PDP.
Surprisingly, the visit included the donation of the sum of fifty thousand naira (N50,000) to fifty (50) persons in each of the ten (10) wards visited apart from Ward one with most of the polling units where one hundred (100) persons got N50,000 each.
The Deputy Governor disclosed that the money was to assist the beneficiaries who cut across political lines, including those who have nothing to do with politics, in their businesses.
This gesture has, in no little way, showcased the PDP as a party that is for all Deltans, no matter the political leaning or ethnic background.
Some analysts like Pastor Chuks Agidigbo, described what happened as a ” show of love to those who came out and sent you out to represent them with their voter’s cards.”
He said, “democracy is about the people; so, I thank the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, for leading the PDP on the ‘thank you visit’
He added, “Elections are still far; so, this is not a campaign of any kind and from what I have observed during these visits, it has provided an opportunity for the Deputy Governor to tell the people what the government is doing and also feel the pulse of the people, and know how they feel about the government.”
No doubt, in Delta, since 1999, there is only one dominant political party in Delta State, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the leadership of the party is not taking the situation for granted, they keep providing the leadership that the people deserve, thereby, making the people happy always.
The thank you visit commenced on Thursday, March 20 and ended on Saturday, March 22, and it was evident that in our local parlance, that, “someone who is working in his farm can also, be appreciated.” So, despite the fact that PDP is Delta, Delta is PDP, Sir Onyeme led the party leadership on an appreciation tour. At the first point of call, Ogbe-Ogume (Ward 6), the crowd was such that one could wonder whether the day was a public holiday.
Yours sincerely was on the entourage of the Deputy Governor and the team was received by people in colourful attires dancing to live music been dished out by a Highlife music exponent, Sir Kendo, and that was what set what could be described as the standard to what one witnessed in other communities visited.
The Chairman of the party in the local government area, Chief Anslem Nzete who is popularly known as Igwe Dubai, noted that from what the Chairmen of the Party in the wards visited had done, there was no fear about the strength of the party at the ward level.
One noticeable development during the visits was that some of the few people who left the PDP for other political parties had started to return to the PDP fold and the Deputy Chairman of the party in the state, Elder Moses Iduh, and the Chairman of the party in Delta North Senatorial District, Engr. Dan Ossai were on ground to receive them, and assure them that they would not be discriminated against for temporarily leaving the party. Of course, such a development is not new which the Deputy Governor echoed, charging the chairmen of the different wards to ensure that such returnees were invited to PDP meetings and should have full benefits of belonging to the party.
Some of the returnees were blunt in saying that they left because they were deceived into believing that Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori would not deliver as a Governor but that they were surprised that in less than two years of being in office as Governor, Oborevwori had surpassed their expectations in the way he was managing the affairs of Delta State both in the provision of physical infrastructure and carrying all Deltans along in delivering democratic dividends.
Across the state, the achievements of Oborevwori’s administration are evident, and in Ndokwa West were the visits held, the people believe that the greatest of achievements of the Oborevwori’s administration was the emergence of Sir Onyeme as the Deputy Governor of Delta State. To the majority of Ndokwa people, it was like a case of “seek you first the Kingdom of God and every other thing would be added unto you.”
They believe that, having the number two citizen of the state from their area would ensure in particular the construction of link roads to the communities as the Ugiliama/Ossissa Road, Ossissa/Abala Road, generally, roads in Ndokwa East local government area, a long neglected area, despite being rich in oil and gas deposits.
The new lease of life, Deputy Governor Onyeme said, had started manifesting with the construction of Ndemili/Utagba-Uno road, Utagba-Uno/Eweshi road and the recent approval for the construction, Inam Abbi road. He told the people that if the roads and others could be approved for construction in less than two years of Rt. Hon. Oborevwori’s administration, it was possible that before the end of eight years administration of the governor, almost all, if not all the roads in Ndokwa land would have got the desired attention.
An analysis of the inter-communal roads begging for serious attention shows that they may not span more than 100 km of roads as some of them, like the Ossissa/Ugiliamai road which links two local government areas, Ndokwa West and Ndokwa East, are just about six kilometers.
Naturally, the people of Ndokwa West are happy that for the first time, they produced the Deputy Governor of the state after several efforts to produce the Governor of Delta State through such persons as Prof. Agume Eric Opia, Chief Otunuya Iwegbue (aka Okpondiogwu), Dr Joshua Enueme and Chief Godwill Obielum, among others, who are Ndokwa indigenes that had unsuccessfully contested for the governorship position.
The joy on the faces of the people in all the communities visited was palpable; obviously, they were either members or empathisers of the PDP, the only political party that has successfully entrenched itself among the people since the administration of Chief James Ibori as Governor of Delta State.
The leaders who accompanied the Deputy Governor on the tour included the member representing Ndokwa West Constituency at the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Charles Emetulu, the Chairman of Ndokwa West Local Government, Hon. Obi Nzete, the Commissioner for Urban Renewal, Engr. Michael Anoka, the Managing Director of Delta State Oil -Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief Festus Ochonogor, former member, House of Representatives, Hon. Sam Osasa, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Sir Christopher Osakwe, the immediate past Chairman of the PDP in the local government area, Ogbuefi Lucky Okuji, among others.
The days ahead will certainly be interesting, politically speaking.
But for sure, with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Sir Monday Onyeme in the saddle of leadership, Delta is in safe hands.
God bless Delta State.
(EGUGBO, the writer, is the Senior Special Assistant, Media to the Governor of Delta State and Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Delta State.)
