Former Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and current Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who have both defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), have said that the PDP has lost the steam to handle the Nigerian state.

In a surprising defection move, Okowa, a former Vice-President aspirant to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who contested the 2023 Presidential elections against Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu, alongside Peter Obi of the Labour Party, made the switch.

The defections of Oborevwori, Okowa, and other major PDP stakeholders ended the almost 26-year reign of the party in the state.

In his remarks, the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, said their decision to dump the PDP for the APC was for the common good of the people.

He explained that his defection to the APC was motivated by the desire to connect the state to the seat of power in Abuja.

Okowa said, “When the news broke on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, that we have decided to change our path, people wondered why.

“One thing is very important in the history of a people; there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people, and whatever decision we took was based on that common good and the need to change our path in the interest of the state.

“As I did tell people on that day, it was not about me; it was not about the governor, but the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja. That goodwill that we see in Abuja, to which Delta State is a large contributor, there is a need to connect to it.”

Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, while describing the occasion as a historic one, said that the APC thanks President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership style.

He said, “This occasion today is a political legacy laid by the governor of Delta State.

“I thank President Tinubu for providing good leadership in Nigeria that has greatly added value to our dear party, the APC. This added value is attracting other political parties to our great party.

“Our core value in the APC is progressive leadership, and coincidentally, from what we are seeing on the ground in respect of your programmes and projects, you are a progressive governor, so we are welcoming you for coming home.”

Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma, commended Oborevwori for the infrastructural development of the state, saying that what the APC is known for is what the governor is already doing in Delta State.