President Bola Tinubu is currently holding a meeting with Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The governor arrived at the Villa around 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, unaccompanied.
This marks Governor Oborevwori’s first official meeting with the President since his recent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
On April 23, 2025, Oborevwori made history as the first sitting governor of Delta State to leave the PDP since the return to democratic rule in 1999. His move was followed by a mass defection of key political figures in the state, including former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, commissioners, local government chairmen, and grassroots party operatives. The shift came after a closed-door meeting held in Asaba.
Okowa had previously been the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.
Delta State’s political realignment mirrors recent developments in Rivers and Cross River States, where similar defections have weakened the PDP’s grip and reduced its governorship stronghold to just ten states. The South-South region, once considered a PDP stronghold, is now experiencing a significant shift in political allegiance.
Sources within the APC suggest that more governors may soon follow suit, including Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Abba Yusuf (Kano), and suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Meanwhile, the PDP, Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party continue to grapple with internal divisions and a growing wave of defections to the APC, throwing their political strategies into disarray.