Vice-President Kashim Shettima says the defection of Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori Delta and thousands of his supporters into the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a political tsunami of unimaginable proportion.
Shettima said this on Monday in Asaba when he formally received Oborevwori, former Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and their supporters into the party’s fold.
The vice-president said, ” This is a political tsunami of an unimaginable proportion that has never happened in the history of the South-South sub region.”
He told the new members who recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC that they were now co-owners of the governing party and not guests.
The vice-president described the occasion as a testimony to the enduring promise of the APC.
Shettima, who stressed the need for unity and collaboration, emphasised that the new members were joining as equals in the ruling party.
“You are not guests in this house; you are now co-owners. This is now as much your party as it is ours,” Shettima said, describing the new APC entrants as giants in Nigerian politics.
He highlighted the significance of their decision to join the APC, saying, “the true measure of a political party lies not merely in the enthusiasm of its members.
” But in the conviction it inspires among those who once stood across from them.”
Shettima stated that they were joining the party not as defectors but as brothers and sisters who have found their rightful place among” the APC faithful.
He maintained that they were joining the governing party not as guests but as a family and as fellow architects of a better Nigeria.
Shettima explained the APC’s philosophy of governance and party politics, saying, “what sets the APC apart is not an illusion of uniformity.
“It is our acceptance that differences are inevitable and that greatness lies in managing them.
“Our tables have always been tables of dialogue, places where every member, no matter how great or small, is welcomed to air their grievances, challenge our direction, and shape our future.”
Shettima also reflected on the party’s journey right from inception.
He recalled,”Since its formation in 2013, the APC has been both the dream and the drama of Nigerian democracy.
” So many predictions had been written about us as though we were an experiment doomed to fail,” he said.
The vice-president credited the party’s longevity to its collaborative approach, observing that dialogue, not dictation, has been its shield against disintegration.
He said there was no way the party could have survived this long without listening to one another.
Shettima said, “Today is not merely a day of receiving new members. This is a declaration that the spirit of our great nation is alive.
“It is a spirit that dreams beyond personal ambition, beyond party lines, and sees the larger arc of history.
” Nigeria is greater than all of us, and what we do here today is a step towards strengthening her promise.”
Earlier, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, who described the defection of the Delta Governor as a political legacy, added that it was a historic day.
Ganduje thanked President Bola Tinubu for providing good leadership that had attracted more credible persons into the APC fold.
“The National Working Committee of our party is happy with this decision of the Governor, and we are impressed with the cordial relationship existing between the governor and his predecessor, Dr Okowa,” he said.
The Chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, Gov. Hope Uzodima of Imo, urged the people of Delta to continue to support their governor to deliver more dividends of democracy to the state.
Uzodima assured that the forum would continue to support the governor to move the state to next level.
He said APC the governors were in Delta in their large number to demonstrate the importance and values they have added with the coming of Oborevwori into the APC fold.
Uzodima said:” Today is a special day and we are joyful and hopeful that at the end of the day the APC, a party that is based on ideology can protect our national interest, develop our country and expand the political horizon.
” Today when I was driving into Asaba this afternoon I saw development, I saw the performance of the governor, I saw infrastructure, the state looks like an APC state.
” So, I’m not surprised that the governor in his wisdom decided to joined our great party because what we were known for is what he is already doing in Delta State.”
On his part, Okowa explained that his decision to defect from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was for the common good of the people of the State.
” Today obviously is a great day for us in Delta State. When the news broke out on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 that we have decided to change our path, people wonder why?
” In the history of people, there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people and whatever decision we took was based on the common good of the people.
” As I did tell people that day, it was not about me, it was not about the governor but the fact that there was a resolute for us to connect to Abuja.
” That goodwill that is in Abuja, that resolved that is in Abuja of which Delta State is a larger contributor, there was a need to connect to it,” he said.
Responding, Oborevwori insisted that what happened in Delta was a movement, not defection.
He explained that all the stakeholders of the state were part of the decision to move to the governing APC.
The governor, who said Delta could no longer be in the opposition, thus the change of gears, added that the state decided to reciprocate the love of Tinubu.
“All our members in the National Assembly have agreed that when plenary resumes, they will defect on the floor of the two chambers of the Assembly.
“All the state and ward executives of our party and representatives at all levels will move. We want to be in the Renewed Hope Agenda, which is in line with my agenda,” Oborevwori said.
He assured that there would be no faction in the Delta APC.
