In a night brimming with political drama, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was nowhere to be seen as the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) gathered in Abuja to officially welcome fresh waves of defectors into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting, which unfolded at the Imo Governors' Lodge under the Abuja night sky, was intended to celebrate new alliances — yet one of the biggest names, Oborevwori himself, remained absent from the festivities. Just days earlier, he had stunned political watchers by abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform that hoisted him into power in 2023, pledging allegiance to the APC alongside his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and the entire PDP structure in Delta State.
The air at the gathering was thick with symbolism, as Delta's political giants — including Senator Ned Nwoko, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, APC spokesman Felix Morka, and political veteran Great Ogboru — lined up in support of the party’s growing dominance in the South-South.
The defections, particularly that of Okowa — once the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate — have been hailed by analysts as a crippling blow to the opposition’s hope of staging a comeback in 2027. The APC, they argue, has not just poached members; it has cracked the very foundation of its rival’s southern stronghold.
Still, PDP titans such as Bode George, Bukola Saraki, and Atiku Abubakar remain publicly unshaken, insisting that the party will weather the storm and rise anew in the next general elections.
For now, however, the APC appears to have the upper hand — and the absence of Oborevwori at such a pivotal moment leaves political tongues wagging about the battles and bargains still raging behind closed doors.