While he was campaigning for the Delta State governorship election in 2022 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Sheriff Oborevwori condemned the poor policies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Oborevwori went as far as saying the ruling party must go.

However, on Wednesday, rumours and previous denials of defection gave way to a confirmation that the governor has joined the same party he criticised less than three years ago.

In October 2022, Oborevwori said the APC had nothing to campaign with in Delta because the ruling party had brought poverty to the country.

The Independent newspaper quoted Oborevwori’s words: “What they have succeeded in doing is bringing poverty. The economy is dead. Insecurity in Nigeria is something you can’t talk about. Yet somebody said he wants to come and contest under that party in Delta State. We are waiting for APC in the state.”

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Similarly, in November 2022, Oborevwori condemned the APC-led government for failing to curb insecurity in Nigeria. He said that only the PDP could solve all the problems affecting the country.

Reports such as this and this quoted him thus: “The only party that has the solution to the problems currently bedeviling the country is the PDP. PDP is the only party that can reset and rebuild this nation is the PDP. So APC must go.”

When it was reported in January that the governor might dump the PDP for the APC, Oborevwori dismissed it as a rumour. These were the words of his chief press secretary then: “The Governor had no reason to defect to any other party, given his wide acceptance in the PDP and followership by well-meaning Deltans and residents.”

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The story changed on Wednesday when it was announced that the governor had officially defected to the APC.

Oborevwori was not the only one who defected in Delta. Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate former governor of the state, as well as the Speaker, the state party chairman and all local government chairmen also defected to the ruling party.

According to reports, the decision was made to “advance security and the welfare of the people and ensure that development in Delta is not truncated”.