*Asks Oborevwori To Vacate Position
*Challenges Defections In Court
*Muoboghare To Omo-Agege: Return To PDP, Get Your Ticket
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has directed the Emma Ogidi-led South-South Zonal caretaker executive to take charge of the running of the party affair in Delta State, pending the constitution of a caretaker committee.
The zonal committee was mandated to move to Delta State and take stock of the party inventory towards recovering them.
In a related development, the National Working Committee (NWC) asked Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State to vacate his seat, following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside his predecessor and vice presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and others last week.
At its first meeting following the gale of defection, the NWC, led by the party’s actiong national Chairman, Umar Damagum, disclosed that PDP had instructed its national legal adviser to approach the court “and do the needful.”
Damagum, while addressing journalists after the meeting, said the move was part of the outcome of the NWC meeting.
Damagum explained that the NWC deliberated on and approved the recommendations of the state governors elected on the party’s platform, regarding the position of the national secretary, to allow the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is scheduled to meet on May 27, have the final say.
The party vowed to challenge in court, the defection of Oborevwori, Okowa and the entire party structure in the state
Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Ebere Wabara, predicted that the APC would soon implode, saying there was no cause for alarm, even as he described Oborevwori and Okowa’s defection as a blessing in disguise.
Addressing journalists after the NWC meeting, Damagum said going to court would enable the party reclaim its mandate, as the defectors were elected on the platform of the party.
He stated: “I want to use this opportunity to once again condemn what happened in Delta State. We’ve taken it with all sorts of regret and the pains that have gone down with us.
“I want to also use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that election is not conducted by the NWC. They (APC) can coerce, cajole and intimidate our members into joining them, but they can only do that because they feel they have what it takes.
“So, I urge our supporters to remain calm. We’ve just instructed the zonal caretaker committee to oversee the party in Delta State after dissolving all the structures that were there since majority of them have shifted. Soon, we will constitute a caretaker committee.”
he added: “We have also instructed the national legal adviser to recover our mandate that they have taken away. The fortunes of this party cannot just be left in the hands of our adversaries, so we will take legal action to retrieve those mandates as far as the Electoral Act says whenever you leave, you must leave the chair that you have occupied.
“So, we are going to still do that, but we are going to also warn that party members should be faithful to the party.
“We will soon have a convention to usher in new executives, so I want to say here that we will continue to be one indivisible party and no amount of intimidation or mischief can bring down this party.
“It has survived all sorts of machinations in the past and this one is just a child’s play. We have all seen it already and we’re looking forward to 2027 when the country will speak based on the existing hardship that has been deliberately imposed on the people.
“We have adopted the recommendations that have been laid down and it will be forwarded to the NEC of the party.
“The NEC will be held on May 27, 2025, while the convention will be held around August 28, 29, and 30, but it is a proposal, subject to approval by NEC.”
On his part, Ogidi said: “We have been given the assignment to oversee Delta State. Our job is to go there, take stock of what is left, address members, give them confidence and then, of course, head-hunt good people that we are going to recommend to the NWC for confirmation as members of the caretaker committee.
“What happened to us was a great blow, we didn’t expect it.”
Wabara said though the party would miss the defectors, it would not deplete its fortunes in 2027, noting: “APC will soon implode as a result of the defection of PDP members coming to displace loyal APC faithful who have laboured to build their party.
“The PDP will laugh last because very soon, there will be implosion in the APC. Those people joining the APC will soon want to displace the party members who have built the APC over the years.
“The displaced APC members will look for where to go, and they will simply come over to the PDP.”
The former senate president told Vanguard he was not surprised at the defection of the high-profile chieftains, stating: “It was expected, and I think we should expect more. But there’s nothing to worry about; that’s politics. We long expected such defections and we know the reason. Some are doing so for second tenure and some for protection.
“Those people defecting know that in 2027, the outcome of the election may not reflect the true will of the people. They may be afraid that the results of the elections may be compromised, but Nigerians will not allow such broad-day robbery again.
“The idea of the electoral body writing and announcing any results and asking aggrieved parties to go to court will not work again. Nigerians will vigorously resist anything undemocratic, because this country must be made to work for the good of all.
“The decampees fear that the APC might want to give one or two states to the opposition to create the impression that the election was democratic. But the bitter truth is that the 2027 election will be between the APC and Nigerians determined to rescue their country from political hijackers.”
In a related development, a former commissioner for Higher Education and Agriculture in Delta State under Okowa and PDP chieftain, Professor Patrick Muoboghare, has invitated the immediate past deputy senate president, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, to return to the party to pursue his governorship ambition in 2027.
In his reaction to the recent mass defections, Muoboghare, while noting the statements of Vice President Shettima asking Omo-Agege to work with Oborevwori, a former political foe, said: “Omo-Agege made a statement on Sunday welcoming the governor to the party in his capacity as a leader of the party in the state, but within 24 hours, he was stripped of his title and compelled to work with the governor.
“The governor is the leader of the party and Omo-Agege, who has built the party and has been working hard to gather followers, has just been stripped of his leadership and he is being chased away from the party.
“In any political party, after the governor, every other person is immaterial, because everybody must follow the governor, and in this case, once the governor indicates interest to contest the election, there will be no primary election and the party will give him the ticket.”
The former commissioner described Omo-Agege as a lion that has been caged in its own den, saying if he wants to contest the next governorship election in Delta State, he should return to PDP, which he belonged to before decamping to APC, assuring that he would be given a soft landing.
“He should not allow himself to be humiliated and pushed around in the APC, where his leadership is being undermined. The PDP is ready to welcome him back with open arms and support his governorship ambition and ensure he succeeds in his political endeavours,” Muoboghere stated.
He equally urged other defectors to reconsider their decision and return to PDP, where they would be valued and respected, saying PDP is committed to promoting unity, inclusiveness and fairness in its political activities, as it has always done in the past.
Muoboghere assured Omo-Agege and other potential returnees that PDP was the right platform to achieve their political aspirations, charging them to take advantage of the current atmosphere in the party and work together towards a better future for Delta State in 2027.
