By Festus Ahon 

AS the 2027 general election draws closer, Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, is taking his re-election campaign beyond political meetings and party rallies, with a message built around continuity, infrastructure development and direct support for ordinary citizens.
The unveiling of MORE Plus at the inauguration of the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council in Asaba signals the direction of the governor’s campaign. It is aimed at building on the administration’s M.O.R.E Agenda while placing greater emphasis on the economic circumstances of residents, particularly small business owners, artisans and vulnerable households.

Oborevwori has charged party leaders and members to take the message of President Bola Tinubu and the APC to communities, wards and polling units, insisting that the campaign must be driven by direct engagement with voters rather than a succession of rallies.
The governor’s argument is straightforward: political support cannot be secured by simply listing government projects. The people must understand how those projects and policies affect their daily lives.

Market women, farmers, traders, artisans, young people and workers, he said, must be reached where they live and work. Campaign coordinators were consequently directed to strengthen their grassroots structures, work with support groups and explain the achievements of the APC-led government to the electorate.

But beyond political mobilisation, the MORE Plus message is being reinforced by a series of government decisions aimed at combining physical development with interventions that put money directly into the hands of residents.

One of the most significant is the state government’s N5 billion grassroots empowerment programme, which targets 100,000 small-scale business owners and other beneficiaries across Delta’s 500 wards. Under the arrangement, each beneficiary is expected to receive N50,000, with councillors expected to facilitate the selection and distribution at the ward level. The initiative reflects the administration’s recognition that roads, bridges and public buildings, important as they are, do not immediately address every household’s financial difficulties.

The government recently approved a separate N4 billion intervention for 15,000 indigent residents to enable beneficiaries establish or expand a small business. The scheme is designed to cover the state’s 25 local government areas, with priority given to vulnerable people already operating micro-enterprises, those seeking to start businesses and residents who need financial assistance to improve their circumstances.
The two programmes represent different levels of intervention, but their underlying objective is similar: to extend the benefits of governance beyond public infrastructure and create opportunities for people to improve their livelihoods.

The administration’s argument for continuity also rests on its record of financial management and public investment. The Commissioner for Finance, Sir Fidelis Tilije, has said the state ranks highest among the 36 states in liquidity rating, attributing the position to improved revenue generation, fiscal discipline and prudent management of resources.

According to Tilije, the government is funding its 2026 procurement cycle and executing projects in roads, bridges, healthcare and education without borrowing. He also said growth in internally generated revenue had been driven by improved collection methods, a wider revenue base and the reduction of leakages, rather than increases in tax rates.

The commissioner maintained that the administration had sustained regular salary payments to more than 60,000 public servants, generally between 24th and 25th of each month, alongside the 13th-month salary for workers. He also pointed to free medical services for pregnant women and children under five in government hospitals as part of the government’s social investment efforts. These form an important part of the case the administration is making for MORE Plus.

Infrastructure remains another central pillar of the campaign. The Delta State Executive Council has approved the reconstruction and rehabilitation of several roads, including the first phase of the Warri Ring Road, from First Marine Gates to Port Gate, and the rehabilitation of the road linking Old Port Gate to the NPA Expressway.

Other approvals cover Airport Road, Jakpa Road and Refinery Road in Effurun, where deteriorating road conditions have created difficulties for motorists and residents.

The council also approved the reconstruction of Ugbolu-Illah Road in Oshimili North Local Government Area, alongside a number of internal roads in communities across the state. Extensions to the ongoing flyover projects at Otovwodo Junction in Ughelli and towards College Junction in Agbor were also approved.

Beyond these major corridors, the list includes neighbourhood roads in Asaba, Orerokpe, Ughoton, Obiaruku, Emede, Otor-Udu and other communities. The government has also approved permanent office buildings for the Delta State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Rural Development Agency, as well as an ultra-modern MBA lecture theatre at Delta State University, Abraka.

The spread of projects across different parts of the state is intended to demonstrate that development is not confined to major urban centres. For residents of communities where bad roads restrict movement and commercial activity, even a relatively short stretch of properly constructed road can make a practical difference.

The political significance of these initiatives was evident at the inauguration of the APC Campaign Council, where party leaders called for a coordinated effort to secure victory in 2027.
Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme, urged members to publicise the Tinubu administration’s policies on education, local government autonomy, electricity, security and infrastructure. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, defended the Federal Government’s economic reforms, arguing that difficult decisions were necessary to address structural problems in the economy.
Former governor Ifeanyi Okowa, speaking for Delta North, said expectations had risen following the mass movement of political stakeholders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in April 2025. He urged the campaign council to engage voters directly rather than depend entirely on rallies.

The campaign council’s Director-General, Senator James Manager, pledged to work with party leaders and members to mobilise support across the state. That mobilisation is also extending to organised groups in the informal economy.

The Delta State Informal Sector Association, which brings together 42 trade unions to represent more than 120,000 stakeholders, has endorsed Tinubu, Oborevwori and other APC candidates ahead of the elections.
Its chairman, Chief Ifeanyi Abanum, said artisans and small business operators had received greater recognition under the Oborevwori administration. He cited opportunities for engagement with government and improvements in roads and other infrastructure as reasons for the association’s position.

The group includes mechanics, tailors, carpenters, photographers, hairdressers, caterers, plumbers, furniture makers, printers, market operators and other small-scale entrepreneurs whose activities sustain livelihoods across the state.
Abanum urged union leaders to mobilise members while disclosing plans for business support and grants. Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kingsley Emu, described the informal sector as an important contributor to economic growth and said its concerns deserved attention in government policy.

For Oborevwori, MORE Plus presents an opportunity to connect the administration’s development record with the immediate concerns of households and small businesses. It also places greater responsibility on the government to demonstrate that its promises can be translated into measurable improvements.

As the campaign gathers momentum, the administration is determined to sustain infrastructure delivery, manage public finances responsibly and ensure that empowerment programmes reach their intended beneficiaries. The political message is continuity as public services improved and opportunities extended to those who need them most.