*Inaugurates Campaign Council, Unveils MORE Plus
*Woos Civil Servants With 13th Month Salary
DELTA State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has charged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council to take the party’s message to the grassroots and mobilise voters across units and wards ahead of next year’s general elections.
Oborevwori, who gave the charge in Asaba during the inauguration of the Delta State APC Campaign Council, where he also unveiled ‘MORE Plus’ as the theme of his re-election campaign, described membership of the council as a call to service, urging members to work with unity, discipline and dedication to secure victory for President Bola Tinubu, himself and other APC candidates.
He said the party must go beyond rallies and political meetings to engage ordinary citizens, including market women, youths, workers, farmers and traders, through door-to-door campaigns and direct interaction with voters, urging campaign coordinators at the local government and ward levels to strengthen their structures, work with support groups and ensure that the party’s message reached every polling unit.
The governor stated that APC should campaign on its record in government, pointing to Federal Government’s policies and his administration’s M.O.R.E Agenda, which focuses on infrastructure, education, healthcare, workers’ welfare, youth empowerment and security, adding: “Our achievements must speak for us, but we must also be prepared to explain them convincingly.”
He urged party members to communicate the impact of government policies to the electorate, assuring Deltans that political activities would not distract his administration from delivering on its promises, as ongoing projects and development programmes would continue during the campaign period.
He appealed to politicians and their supporters to preserve peace, avoid hate speech and ensure political differences do not divide the state.
Oborevwori also charged civil servants in the state to remember his administration’s 13th-month salary package during the elections, saying they have no choice but to vote for the party, insisting the additional salary payment had strengthened the connection between workers’ welfare and continuity of his administration.
He said: “Today, civil servants have no choice not to vote us. They have no choice. 13th month (salary) is huge, times two. Some people don’t understand what 13th month.
“What you’re receiving now is times two in December. That is the meaning of 13th month. Whether you’re an appointee, whether a public servant, whether a civil servant, you’re receiving your 13th month.”
Deputy Governor, Monday Onyeme, in his remarks, commended Oborevwori for aligning Delta State with the Federal Government, urging APC members to consolidate the gains by working towards victory in 2027.
Onyeme called on party faithful to publicise Tinubu’s achievements in areas, such as local government autonomy, education funding, grassroots development and road infrastructure.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, arguing that difficult decisions were necessary to address the country’s economic challenges.
Keyamo said though the reforms may have caused temporary hardship, they were intended to address underlying problems, including the unsustainable cost of fuel subsidies.
In his welcome address, state Chairman of the party, Solomon Arenyeka, said the inauguration demonstrated the party’s readiness to contest and win elections at all levels in 2027.
Arenyeka urged members of the council to work together, mobilise voters peacefully and translate the achievements of the APC-led governments into electoral support.
Former governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who spoke on behalf of Delta North Senatorial District, said expectations were high, following their mass defection from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC in April last year.
Okowa urged the council to demonstrate the party’s strength through an impressive electoral performance, stressing the need to reach voters directly, rather than rely solely on rallies.
Speaking for Delta Central Senatorial District, O’tega Emerhor expressed delight that APC was now the ruling party in Delta State, pledging support for the re-election of Tinubu and Oborevwori.
Former secretary to the state government, Ovuozourie Macaulay, who spoke for Delta South Senatorial District, said Oborevwori’s achievements would help the party’s campaign, assuring that the district would work towards delivering substantial votes for the APC.
Former APC national woman leader and Executive Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Stella Okotete, urged women to intensify mobilisation, setting a target of at least 75 per cent of the votes for Tinubu and other APC candidates.
Responding, Director General of the council, James Manager, pledged to work with party leaders and members to secure victory for the APC, describing the assignment as an onerous task requiring collective effort and sustained grassroots mobilisation.
The council is made up of Oborevwori as Chairman, Manager as Director General, Chiedu Ebie as Deputy Director General and a host of others.
