President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with the Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja — marking the governor’s first visit to the President since his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oborevwori, who arrived at the Villa at about 3:45 p.m. without aides or entourage, became the first sitting governor of Delta State to leave the PDP since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
The meeting, held behind closed doors, comes just two weeks after Oborevwori led a mass defection of Delta’s political leadership, including his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, commissioners, local government chairmen, and grassroots mobilisers, to the APC.
Oborevwori’s defection represents a major political shake-up in the South-South region, long considered a stronghold of the opposition PDP. His predecessor, Okowa, was the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections.
The realignment in Delta mirrors recent political shifts in Rivers and Cross River states, further reducing PDP’s grip on Nigeria’s state governments. The PDP now controls only ten states, as internal party crises and defections continue to rattle the opposition bloc.
Meanwhile, sources within the APC suggest that more high-profile defections are imminent, with the governors of Akwa Ibom (Umo Eno), Enugu (Peter Mbah), Kano (Abba Yusuf), and suspended Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara tipped as potential new members of the ruling party.
The opposition PDP, Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are battling increasing political instability amid these cross-party movements.
Neither the Presidency nor Governor Oborevwori has released an official statement on the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting at the time of filing this report.
