The struggle to control the structure of the Delta State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections has escalated into open confrontation, with last month’s ward and local government congresses degenerating into controversy and, in some areas, outright violence.

What ought to have been a routine internal exercise designed to consolidate grassroots leadership and strengthen the party’s machinery for the next electoral cycle instead exposed deep fault lines within the state chapter. Rather than projecting cohesion as the governing party in Delta, the APC has found itself mired in a fierce power contest between entrenched political interests, each claiming authenticity, legitimacy, and majority control.

At the centre of the struggle are two formidable blocs. On one side stands the legacy structure built during the party’s years in opposition, anchored by former governor James Ibori, erstwhile Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege and Senator Ned Nwoko. Their loyalists painstakingly constructed the APC framework in Delta at a time when the party had limited access to state power.

Opposing them is the newer power centre aligned with incumbent governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his political ally, former governor Ifeanyi Okowa. This bloc migrated into the APC following Oborevwori’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on April 23, 2025, a political realignment that dramatically altered the balance of forces within the state.

Ironically, the same pattern of rivalry and structural contestation that once fractured the PDP in Delta, forcing key figures such as Ibori and his allies to seek alternative political platforms years earlier, is now replaying itself within the APC. The actors have changed party colours, but the undercurrents of suspicion, competition and structural dominance remain strikingly familiar.

For the people of Delta State, however, the recurring drama raises a more sobering question: how long will a handful of competing political cliques continue to hold the oil-rich “Big Heart” state hostage in their race to consolidate influence and demonstrate loyalty to President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027?

Structure, not symbolism
At stake in the current confrontation is far more than routine party administration. Control of ward and local government executives determines delegate composition, voting strength at primaries and, ultimately, who flies the party’s flag in 2027. In practical terms, whoever controls the structure controls the ticket.

Both camps conducted congresses. Both produced executive lists. Both insist their processes were legitimate. And both have reportedly moved to Abuja seeking national endorsement of their separate outcomes.

The language deployed by each side underscores the gravity of the contest. Accusations of structural hijack, exclusion, intimidation and manipulation have dominated internal communications and public statements.

Leaders of the Delta North APC Coalition for Equity have alleged systematic exclusion by the Oborevwori-aligned camp. According to them, longstanding ward stakeholders were sidelined, while open participation was replaced by closed-door consensus arrangements. The coalition’s chairman, Chief Alex Ikpeazu, and Acting Secretary General, Ken-Chad Rafua, contend that established ward leaders were neither invited nor consulted in the preparation of consensus lists presented by the governor’s political structure.

Their grievance goes beyond procedural complaints. They allege that nomination forms purchased by aspirants were withheld and that executive lists were compiled privately for loyalists. Petitions from several wards appear to reinforce these claims.

In Ukwuani’s Ward 8, local leaders rejected what they described as an altered executive list submitted without ratification. A petition signed by Gloria Okolugbo, Kizito Akinima, Kedinuwa Okwuedei, Chief Edward Idise, Leonard Echigeme, Ada Douglas Betty and Chief Ifeanyi Ekpenuma stated that a duly convened meeting held on February 8, 2026, had unanimously adopted and harmonised a ward executive list.

They alleged that the ward chairman, in collaboration with a lawyer, Ambrose Egunatum, subsequently altered the agreed list by substituting and inserting names without consultation or ratification, before submitting the modified document without their knowledge.

Similarly, in Ward 6 of Ndokwa East Local Government Area, a petition reportedly addressed to Governor Oborevwori alleged gross misconduct and disregard for the APC constitution and party directives. In the letter signed by Chinedu Ochonogor, it was stated that certain leaders conducted a congress list without the knowledge of the ward chairman, Mr Obi Johnny, and the ward leader, Chief Mary Chidi.

The petitioner claimed that an initial list was rejected by the Ndokwa East APC leader, Chief Godwill Obielum, and the party chairman, Chief Kris Oputa, who directed that a fresh congress be held. He further alleged that he was removed from a consensus list after being accused of opposing a powerful political interest, raising concerns that political blacklisting may be overriding constitutional processes within the party.

Ward chairmen across Delta North echoed similar anxieties in a joint protest, warning that marginalising long-standing grassroots mobilisers could weaken the party’s electoral architecture. Their message carried a pointed reminder: many of them spearheaded mobilisation for President Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.

Congress day turns violent
Tensions reached a flashpoint during the local government congress in Ethiope West, where political confrontation reportedly turned volatile. Gunmen suspected to be political thugs allegedly attacked supporters of federal lawmaker Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of James Ibori, in what her camp described as an attempt to block her access to the congress venue.

Witnesses reported that armed men confronted her convoy, sparking panic, injuries and disruption before security aides evacuated her from the scene.

The incident drew swift condemnation from traditional authorities in Oghara Kingdom, her constituency. The Ogharefe Council of Chiefs and Elders (Oguedion R’Ogharefe) described the episode as a “near-war situation and a grave threat to peace and constitutional order.”

In a statement jointly signed by senior traditional leaders, including Chief Stephen Egbivwie (Unugbrogodo of Ogharefe) and other prominent chiefs, the council condemned what it termed an alleged assassination attempt and decried any effort to destabilise the kingdom for political gain.

Central to their protest was the last-minute relocation of the congress venue from the Ogharefe Township Stadium, traditionally used for such gatherings, to Ovade village. The council questioned the rationale behind the abrupt change, arguing that the township stadium at the local government headquarters had consistently hosted political congresses without incident. It described the relocation as suspicious and potentially instrumental in triggering the breakdown of order.

Reacting to the development, Ibori-Suenu, who represents Ethiope East/Ethiope West Federal Constituency and chairs the House Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), declared that her camp remained unshaken.

“The noise did not define us. The hostility did not weaken us. The intimidation did not silence us,” she said, vowing that the events would not deter her commitment to peace, service and democratic engagement.

“We do not respond to violence with fear. We respond with courage. We do not bow to chaos. We rise with dignity. We stand tall not because the storm was small, but because our foundation is solid, stronger, wiser, focused and we move forward.”

Despite the attack, she urged supporters to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding, cautioning against retaliation.
Official denials and counter-narratives

The Oborevwori-aligned APC leadership, however, swiftly dismissed the allegations. According to the state Publicity Secretary, Mr Valentine Onojeghuo, the congress was conducted peacefully across the state’s 25 local government areas, producing what he described as “duly elected and widely accepted” executives.

The party maintained that the exercise complied fully with guidelines approved by its National Working Committee (NWC) and noted that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitored the process, attesting to its transparency.

It also rejected claims of parallel congresses or violence, particularly in Ethiope West, describing such reports as false and misleading. The outcry, the party said, amounted to media sensationalism aimed at creating confusion within the “Broom family.”

Yet, even as both sides trade narratives, the dispute has effectively shifted to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja. Each camp has reportedly submitted its executive lists for recognition. The intervention, or failure, of the national leadership may ultimately determine whether the Delta APC stabilises or fractures irreparably.

Perhaps the most troubling dimension of the unfolding crisis lies in its historical symmetry. Many of the politicians now battling within the APC were central actors in the internal fragmentation that dismantled the once-dominant PDP structure in Delta.

For years, unresolved factional grievances, competing power centres and unchecked loyalty wars hollowed out the PDP from within, eroding its dominance and creating the vacuum the APC now occupies.

Political analysts warn that the APC risks treading the same path: a party at a dangerous crossroads, caught between old structure and new incumbency power, between legacy ownership and present authority. It is also a broader test of whether Nigeria’s party system can absorb high-profile defections without implosion.

If left unresolved, the consequences could extend beyond internal politics. Escalating grassroots tensions risk normalising political violence. The incidents at the congress have already shown how quickly factional rivalry can spill over into physical confrontation.