Delta State governor, Sheriff Obovrewori, has promised to get 1.4 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Mr Oborevwori made the promise on Wednesday when he announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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The governor moved to the APC with his deputy, Monday Onyeme, his immediate predecessor and the PDP 2023 vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and the entire PDP structures in the state.
Announcing the development, a press statement from the press unit of the governor’s office said it will change the fortune of the APC in the South-south region.
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According to the statement, “With Oborevwori now in APC colours, the South‑South’s political map tightens as the new alignment enhances President Bola Tinubu’s re‑election calculus by adding roughly 1.4 million Delta votes to the ruling party.”
However, observers see Mr Oborevwori’s vote target as illusory because of the volume of votes available in the state, voter turnout and traditional voting patterns, and other factors.
For the 2023 General Election, Delta State registered 3,227,697 voters, with 2,989,514 collecting their permanent voter cards (PVCS) that enabled them to vote on election day.
However, the state cast 615,341 valid votes in the presidential election, representing only 19 per cent of the registered voters.
Although Mr Oborevwori won the governorship election with 57 per cent of the vote, the PDP got only 26 per cent of the votes the state cast in the presidential election, despite the outgoing governor, Mr Okowa, being on the ballot as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. The APC was further behind with 15 per cent of the vote, as Peter Obi of the Labour Party took the state with 56 per cent.
While the PDP and APC fusion may help Mr Oborevwori in his reelection bid, the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in the state warns that the two parties’ dominance of Delta’s local politics may not be enough to put the state in Mr Tinubu’s column in 2027.
READ ALSO: Real reasons Delta Governor Obovrevwori dumped PDP for APC
APC’s struggles in Delta State reflect its fortunes in the entire South-South region, where it got its worst returns after the South-east.
The ruling party got only 28 per cent of the votes of the six states of the region in the last presidential election. However, that result placed it ahead of the PDP, which got only 25 per cent, as the Labour Party took the region with 42 per cent.
Observers believe that Mr Oborevwori and his associates have a tough task on their hands to fulfill their promise to their new party.
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