Delta Governor defection took us by surprise – PDP Chair, Damagun

By Lateef Ibrahim

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has expressed shock at the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said the party had been too magnanimous to Delta State and did not deserve the political treatment it received through the defection.

Peoples Daily reports that Oborevwori and his predecessor, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa and other PDP stakeholders in Delta state formally announced their defection to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday.

Damagum said the 2027 election was between Nigerians and the APC, an opportunity he noted would be best utilised to punish the ruling party for inflicting deep economic pains on citizens.

Damagum, who spoke while presenting a Certificate of Return to the PDP candidate for the Anambra State governorship election, Chief Ezenwafor Jude, assured that the party would win the Anambra poll.

He said: “It’s very sad and unfortunate because to me, if there’s any state that should think that way, not Delta, because the party is very magnanimous. I thank God that in their message, they didn’t say that the party did anything wrong to them other than good,” he said.

“It’s a decision taken by them, but the pains will be in us not because of anything, but because we have given Delta State all our support, from the emergence of the governor to his predecessor, who also doubled as our vice presidential candidate.

“I think we’ve done it all for them in Delta State. We least expected this action from them. All the same, this is a party that have seen more than that, but it’s still standing.”

He disclosed that the PDP will take over its structures immediately by setting up a caretaker.

“We are still taking stock, and we will do that immediately. I also want to enjoin our members, both in Delta and the country in general, I want to remind us of what happened in 2023. The PDP can still make it.”

Damagum drew attention to the fact that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, had never been a governor, and he was able to get the votes he got.

“This election in 2027 is not about how many governors you have or how many leaders. It’s about Tinubu and Nigerians.

“The ordinary man is feeling the pain, and the decision is his. So I want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that it is their election. It is APC versus Nigerians.”

“It’s not APC versus any governor or senator or anything but APC versus Nigerians. So I want to urge all of us to close ranks and rescue ourself from this hardship that is inflicted on us by design, not any coincidence.”