The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decided to pursue legal action against Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and other major political figures who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Following a six-hour closed-door meeting held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, the PDP leadership instructed its National Legal Adviser to begin the legal process of reclaiming what it described as the party’s “stolen mandate” in Delta State.
In a communiqué released after the meeting, the party mandated its legal team to take immediate steps toward recovering control of the state from Governor Oborevwori and others who had abandoned the PDP for the APC.
Moving to stabilise its structure in the state, the party leadership appointed Emma Ogidi, its South-South Zonal Chairman, to take charge of affairs in Delta and lead reorganisation efforts.
Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, addressed the situation, saying, “We have also instructed the national legal adviser to recover our mandate that they have taken away. The fortune of this party cannot be just left in the hands of our adversaries, so you (the national legal adviser) will take legal action to retrieve those mandates.
“We’ve just instructed the zonal caretaker committee to oversee the party in Delta, after dissolving all the structures that have already been there since the majority of them have shifted.”
Beyond the immediate concerns surrounding defections, the NWC also adopted key recommendations from it governors’ forum.
The committee fixed May 28 for the party’s next National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and scheduled the PDP National Convention to hold from August 28 to 30, 2025.
Gale Of Defection
On April 23, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy Monday Onyeme, and numerous political allies, including state commissioners, local government chairmen, and a wide network of grassroots PDP operatives, officially joined the APC.
They were welcomed into the ruling party by top figures such as Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma.
Among those who also defected was former Delta State Governor and PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, marking what political analysts have described as a significant shift in the political landscape of the oil-rich state.
The APC described the event as more than just a defection, calling it a “movement” that signaled a substantial political transformation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
What you should know
The PDP has launched legal steps to reclaim Delta State after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other top stakeholders defected to the APC. The move, which included former governor Ifeanyi Okowa, is seen as a major realignment shaking PDP’s longtime dominance in the region.
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