Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has been rated as performing “averagely well” by Arise News analyst, Dr. Sam Amadi.
While Mahmud Jega, expressed hope that the case of the former governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), would not be jettisoned due to his new romance with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Arise News, on Tuesday April 29, 2025, their analysis, aired during a recent political segment, went beyond performance to examine the undercurrents influencing the recent wave of defections in Delta State, including the controversial switch by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and others from the PDP to APC.
Dr. Sam Amadi, a respected public affairs analyst, noted that Governor Oborevwori has made moderate progress, particularly through project continuity and infrastructural investments.
However, he criticized the administration’s lack of bold, reform-driven leadership, describing Oborevwori’s governance style as “cautious” and “politically safe.”
“He is not doing badly, but he is also not demonstrating the kind of transformative energy expected from a first-term governor,” Amadi said.
“Delta State is relatively secure politically. It’s not a place where Tinubu’s APC has an easy sweep, considering Peter Obi defeated both Tinubu and Atiku there in 2023.”
Amadi emphasized that the recent defections of Delta political figures appear to be driven less by ideological conviction and more by survivalist instincts and perceived electoral uncertainties heading into 2027.
He suggested that fear over a potentially compromised electoral process could be motivating politicians to align with the ruling party at the center.
“There’s a shadow over 2027. The thinking seems to be: if you want to survive politically, decamp to APC, or risk electoral sabotage by INEC.”
He further linked the trend to personal interests, particularly pointing to former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, implying his political realignment could be influenced by EFCC charges leveled against him last year.
“Okowa appears to be struggling, perhaps morally, perhaps politically. His recent movements seem to coincide with the EFCC prosecution he faced months ago. The timing raises questions.”
Veteran journalist and analyst Mahmud Jega added moral weight to the debate, arguing that politicians who abandon the platform on which they were elected should morally and perhaps legally vacate their mandate.
“If you abandon the party that gave you the mandate, then ethically, you should also relinquish the position. You can’t eat your cake and have it.”
Jega described the mass defections in Delta, a historically strong PDP state, as unusual and politically suspect.
“PDP has dominated Delta since 1999. If leaders are now defecting en masse, it raises eyebrows. People will naturally question the motives, especially when high-profile figures under investigation suddenly find relief after joining the ruling party.”
Both analysts concluded that unless governance shifts from political maneuvering to tangible reforms and people-centered leadership, public confidence in Delta’s political direction may continue to erode.
In Amadi’s words: “”The governor of Delta State is doing averagely well from some reports.
“He is not in real danger of being… if votes count taken out if he focused on serving the people, not at all. This is a State that Peter Obi, won handly against Tinubu and against Atiku.
“It is not like as if Tinubu’s wave is going to sweep that place, that is not true.
“Look two things are at play here; individual interest as in the case Okowa, that is very clear and for the governor, perhaps fear that with what has happened in 2023, with the Edo’s election, there is no certain calculation clear that this INEC, under the APC.
“It is fraternism about competitive election and so we are going into 2027 with this shadow hanging over the prospect that looks if you want to be in power, you have to decamp otherwise, INEC would hurt you badly”.
On the question of selfish interest in Okowa’s defection, he said: “Yes, he is correct, it is connecting to Abuja, for the benefit of Okowa, simple and short.
“We might disagree with President Tinubu in many ways but I don’t think that this government is guilty of overt constitutional discrimination against it.
“It is not a government that has, for example stop State allocations because they are at the other camp.
“The Tinubu, government has not tried to perhaps deny State of what they ought to get and by the way, this is the system that has Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, top ranking APC persons.
“We have seen when Senator Ned Nwoko crossed over because of Okowa basically. The point is that Okowa, wanted to run for Senate and he couldn’t stay with Okowa in PDP.
“If you watch the body language of Okowa, this is like striking, this is a guy that was disappearing there, I didn’t see any gravitas and I think probably struggling with his conscience, probably clear.
“A few weeks or months ago, there was a massive case against him, the EFCC, he was docked. The analysis is that perhaps this is to escape the possible nightmare”, he said.
On his part, Mahmud, said: “Morally and probably legally, if you abandoned the party on whose platform you got elected, then, you should probably abandon the mandate and seek another mandate under the new party, I think morally, that is a very strong case.
“In any case, just like Dr. Amadi said what was the reason for the massive of the governor’s and PDP? Because Delta is one of the most solid PDP State and has been so since the beginning of this Republic.
“If you count out the Peter Obi presidential election victory there, no party has ever won any election in Delta State apart from PDP and there are no indications now that there are any trouble.
“And if that is the case, people begin to look for a motive outside politics and the most obvious one probably is that Dr. Okowa was arrested by EFCC, late last year and he was been charged.
“And really now the challenge is to see if the EFCC will continue with that prosecution because if they don’t, the people will say Okay, so this was the reason for the defection and there was a deal to drop the investigation and prosecution because he has now moved to APC”, he added.
