APC has never won an election in Delta State outside the leadership and influence of Ovie Omo-Agege. Whether in the wards, local governments, House of Assembly, federal constituencies, or the Senate, APC has never recorded significant electoral victories in Delta State except under the leadership of Ovie Omo-Agege.
To predict victory for APC in the 2027 elections without Omo-Agege in its corner in Delta State will be very difficult indeed, and that is putting the party’s predicament mildly.
And then enters, in stout opposition, the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), a party to which the people of the Niger Delta can validly lay claim as their own. With Peter Obi leading the charge for the presidency and a politically untainted champion flying the governorship flag, APC now has a nimble elephant to grapple with in Delta State.
The governorship candidate, Chris Iyiovwaye, is a self-made businessman and a denizen of Nigeria’s competitive business landscape who has weathered battles both on the open seas and in boardrooms. He has emerged from these experiences as a formidable contender for the office of governor. He is not the typical establishment politician who dominates the corridors of power in the state—men often perceived as having amassed wealth without productive enterprise. As such, he is experienced in managing people and resources to achieve results. He appears to embody what the current political situation in Delta State demands: an alpha figure in an untamed jungle. Imagine the impact of a Peter Obi and Chris Iyiovwaye partnership on business development and economic growth in Delta State. The signs appear promising, perhaps exactly what Providence has ordained for its beloved Delta State.
They are both backed by influential and outspoken voices in towns and villages across a state that refuses to “carry last” and whose people are now determined to take genuine charge of their affairs. The public communication teams of the NDC are ready to inform, influence, and educate. From the villages to the cities, crowds are already gathering in anticipation of the Peter Obi and Chris Iyiovwaye ticket.
Back in 2023, with the Obi wave alone, Peter Obi won more than 70 percent of the presidential votes in Delta State. At that time, there was no organized media machinery behind him, the governorship challenger was allegedly bought out of contention, and there was no structured opposition presence at collation centres. Yet, the Obi wave swept Tinubu, Atiku, and the homeboy, Okowa, aside in the presidential contest in Delta State. Okowa even lost at his polling unit despite the strength of the local political machinery. In 2027, there will be sustained fire from the NDC structure and disciplined coordination. There will be ample political ammunition and relentless pressure, aimed at dismantling pockets of resistance from a weakened APC. The APC’s principal campaign strategy, it seems, will be to throw money at public discontent in an attempt to defend itself against widespread resentment
Bola Tinubu has drawn political blood across the country, and the level of public anger he has accumulated is, in the author’s view, too great to expect meaningful reprieve. Many Nigerians are united by hardship and growing resentment toward Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In the eyes of his critics, he has demonstrated a level of insensitivity in governance that many never imagined possible. They have watched their communities suffer, their children endure deprivation, and countless families slide deeper into poverty. Across forests and rural settlements, many children face hunger and displacement, while insecurity continues to claim lives. The hostility toward the president and the APC, the party seen by critics as enabling these conditions, may continue to grow until election day.
Delta State has never been an adventurous political environment. Governed by establishment politicians from the beginning, its politics has generally been measured, controlled, and dominated by entrenched interests. Critics argue that many political actors have become consumed by a culture of patronage, excess, and self-enrichment. Delta State, with a population of about seven million, has received enormous revenues for development over the last two decades. Yet many observers question whether the state’s physical and economic development reflects the scale of those resources.
Delta State has, in the eyes of many critics, become reminiscent of the bleak landscape inhabited by Didi and Gogo in Samuel Beckett’s absurdist drama Waiting for Godot: “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful.” Shell and several major oil companies have departed. New investments are scarce. Federal investments are perceived to be concentrated elsewhere, particularly in Lagos. Little appears to be coming from the state government in terms of transformative projects, while private-sector investment remains limited.
To shield politicians from a restless youth population, critics argue that many young men and women who show the potential to challenge the establishment are absorbed into government patronage networks through appointments as Special Assistants (SAs) and Personal Assistants (PAs), earning monthly stipends. During Okowa’s tenure, there were reportedly about 3,500 such appointees in the state. Observers claim there are even more today.
There has been no broad-based public recruitment exercise by the government and its agencies across Delta State for more than two decades. The new employees who emerge are often believed to be relatives of politicians, while others are said to have secured positions through expensive and opaque arrangements.
Anyone who says that the Delta system is thoroughly broken and rotten may only be stating part of the truth without addressing the enormous sums of money flowing into government coffers. Critics contend that the full scale of internally generated revenue accruing to Delta State remains known only to a select group of senior officials within the revenue board and the governor’s inner circle. According to this view, these figures are rarely disclosed beyond that small circle, not even to the wider executive council.
Delta State needs a new government as desperately as the Sahara Desert needs rain. It needs leadership capable of quenching parched throats, feeding the hungry, and addressing the growing destitution across the state. Amid so much wealth, too many people feel abandoned and alienated.
The NDC, therefore, should strive to win the 2027 elections in order to rescue the state and offer hope to a growing generation of disadvantaged citizens. Everyone, the argument goes, should get on the NDC train and help rescue Delta State now.
@basilokoh
Key improvements:
Corrected grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Improved sentence structure and readability.
Retained every paragraph and the author’s political viewpoint.
Softened a few potentially defamatory assertions by attributing them as opinions, criticisms, or allegations rather than presenting them as established facts.
Preserved the original tone, energy, and persuasive style.
