Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has broken his silence following his dramatic defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that “the PDP palm wine has lost its taste.”
The governor, alongside his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, the State House of Assembly Speaker, all 25 local government chairmen, and the entire leadership of the PDP in Delta State, dumped the party after a marathon meeting held at the Government House in Asaba.
The six-hour closed-door session ended with a unanimous decision to leave the PDP, a move confirmed on Wednesday by Senator James Manager.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” Manager said, announcing the mass defection to APC.
Speaking on behalf of the governor, Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said the decision was driven by the need to secure unity, improve governance, and reposition Delta State for greater development.
“The leadership of PDP in the state came to the inevitable conclusion that leaving the party was the only path to political stability and growth,” Aniagwu said.
He likened the current state of the PDP in Delta to stale palm wine, saying it no longer satisfies the aspirations of the people.
“We believe that what is happening and the state of the PDP is akin to that palm wine whose taste has changed, and there was a need for us to change the drinking pattern,” he added.
Aniagwu assured that the move had the full support of party stakeholders and that a major political statement would be made on Monday when the defection is formally sealed.
According to him, aligning with the APC will enable the state’s leaders to “collaborate with our kith and kin and build the Delta that every Delta will be proud of.”
