Political loyalists of former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, over the weekend, publicly canvassed strategies to win the state as well as the South South zone, for the All Progressives Congress, and work for the reelection of Ibori’s longtime friend and associate, Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ibori loyalists in Delta are largely under the aegis of the Delta Unity Group which appears to be increasingly coalescing around Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chairman, Chiedu Ebie, who was reportedly hand picked for the job by Ibori himself. Part of his mandate is to unite APC in Delta, and to play a pivotal role in the South South, for Tinubu’s reelection.
Over the weekend, a simple rally to welcome Ebie and thousands of Ibori supporters to the APC in Agbor, Delta state, reportedly turned a carnival of sorts, with speaker after speaker vowing to secure Delta and the South South region behind Tinubu’s reelection in 2027.
Headlining the event was APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who harped on unity among members of the APC in Delta State so that they could more easily win elections and provide “better leadership and governance for the people of Delta State.”
He commended the leadership and membership of the DUG for their doggedness in ensuring that the defectors joined the APC saying that the DUG has become a useful vehicle to lead the APC to Delta State Government House come 2027.
Prominent in the DUG pack was Ibori’s biological daughter herself, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, a member of the Federal House of Representatives; Ebie, and many others, who spoke separately on the need for the party to unite in order to capture both the state and the zone for APC.
Ibori-Suenu said as a member of the DUG, joining the APC had been in her heart and those of others associates, and that was why they actively worked for APC during the 2023 elections.
She said Deltans are convinced that the only road to progress in Nigeria was to return President Bola Tinubu in 2027 “and we are battle ready for that, there is no stopping us but we must be united.”
She pointed out that on the huge crowd of supporters that graced the occasion, was prescient of what to expect in the next political year, and that it is a clear sign that APC will take over Delta State and the South South in 2027.
Ebie in his remarks waxed lyrical on the political liberation of the Ika people, Delta State and the South South. He held that the people of Ika federal Constituency just got liberated from “the bondage” the PDP had placed on them over the years, declaring that forthwith the Constituency has become an APC enclave.
“Ika federal Constituency has been completely taken over by APC, but we must unite so as to accomplish other goals ahead.
Senator Ned Nwoko, also a new entrant to APC, in his remarks was excited and happy that a huge group like the DUG was following his footsteps into the APC, while calling for unity to ensure 100 per cent victory at the polls in 2027.
” The era of PDP in Delta State is over, the next government in Delta State will be formed by the APC. Even the governor of Delta State wants to come to APC but we don’t want him in APC.” Nwoko claimed.
In his remarks, former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, recalled how the APC mobilized and won two of the three senate seats in Delta , noting that with the Delta North Senator, Nwoko’s recent move to the APC, all Delta senatorial zones were in the party’s control.