DELTA APC AND LESSONS FROM UGHELLI SHOW OF SHAME, BY KENNEDY BIENOSE

By now, it should be crystal clear to all students of politics, especially unbiased members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, that the Leadership Council (by the way, this unconstitutional political contraption would have been inaugurated by now if not for the swift decisive intervention of the National Working Committee) being proposed by some leaders as panacea for peace and unity among stakeholders of the Party is decidedly skewed against one target: Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, former Deputy President of the Senate and gubernatorial candidate in 2023 general elections. An objective review of the event staged recently at Ughelli to welcome Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru back APC is all that one needs to reach this valid inference.

At the Sunday, March 9, 2025, event, leader after leader who spoke wilfully avoided referencing the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or how the party’s hegemony and asphyxiating approach to governance has underdeveloped the oil-rich state. Nobody dared to utter a word about the astronomical inflow of federal allocations in recent times with no corresponding development on ground. The opposition and antagonistic instincts in all of these leaders suddenly died that day. A demon, sadly, must have sat on their respective tongue. Or, so it seemed.

Ironically, the same leaders who, even as opposition symbols, were very loud in their silence about the ruinous PDP, sounded vitriolic and unbridled in their veiled verbal assault on one of their own. In fact, their vitupetations were as torrential as they were scathing. Like a festering sore, their bileful venom became a seething denominator of their respective remarks. Listening to these supposed leaders of the Party, one would have mistaken the event for a PDP gathering. Tactically speaking, I think it was. I strongly suspect that it was all a decoy, though the level of success at masking the event is open for debate.

The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo (SAN), did not disappoint. For an opposition figure who had publicly endorsed Governor Sheriff Oborevweri at his son’s wedding reception in Asaba, it was only natural that he avoided speaking ill of the PDP like a plague. Even the glaring insidious slow pace of governance of this incompetent incumbent administration escaped his radar. Yet, he was very vehement in declaring that “this Party belongs to all of us, not for one person” as if the ‘ownership’ of the Party was an issue. Would the Party faithful who had thronged the venue
be gathered if they felt alienated in any way? Didn’t even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Leader of the Party, reportedly declare that there was no leadership vacuum in the Delta State Chapter of the Party? Why was such a needless point so important to emphasis on a defection ground?

Matter of factly, the only politically expedient statement credited to the Honourable Minister at that occassion was his misplaced optimism that Mr. President’s re-election come 2027 was a fait accompli. How the divisive politics he apparently promoted with both his disposition and utterances at the event will yield such an electoral outcome, more so that he is reputed to be grossly deficient in grassroots affinity and support, leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Not surprisingly, the Honourable Minister’s example turned out to be a sacred template as speaker after speaker literally hurled their verbal missiles at the same imaginary sole administrator of the Party, vouchsafing no word against the PDP that they hope to unseat in 2027. From the Member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency, the Reverend Francis Waive, who, like the Honourable Minister, had openly endorsed Governor Oborevweri for a second tenure; to the State Chairman of the Party, Elder Omeni Sobotie; to the pioneer Leader and Governorship candidate in 2015, Olorogun O’tega Emerho; to a former Minister of State of Niger Delta and Director-General, APC Governorship Campaign Council in 2023, Elder Godsday Orubebe; to the Executive Director of NEXIM Bank, Stella Okotete, and so on, none offered any critique of the PDP-led administration in the state. Yet, they were unanimous in casting aspersions on an unnamed political common ‘enemy.’

Even the way the new entrant and serial governorship contestant, Chief Ogboru, spoke against this same imaginary political foe, left many discerning observers wondering whether his defection was altruistic or he had just been recruited to swell the ranks of unrepentant haters of a common enemy. Such palpable pettiness was totally needless, and must be avoided if the Party must avoid the mistakes of the past and wax stronger.

Significantly, the political import of the Ughelli jamboree and show of shame was not lost on the prying PDP. Barely had the event ended when Ossai Ovie Success, an appointee of Governor Oborevweri and PDP frontline propagandist, penned a disjointed article to taunt the organisers and proponents of the leadership council who spoke at the event.

In the piece titled “How Sheriff Successes Wipe Out APC’s Hopes, Despite Ogboru’s Defection”, the Governor’s media aide did a forensic analysis of the remarks made at that event and reached a conclusion that the event defeated its very essence. Precisely, he noted that “it seemed like every leader who took the microphone had something positive to say about Governor Oborevweri’s perfomarce”, infering that it was “a testament to Gov. Oborevweri’s exceptional leadership and his commitment to serving the people.” He even enthused that, considering the tacit endorsement of these opposition figures, Governor Oborevweri’s re-election bid was steadily on course. Haba! But who can fault or blame this opportunistic PDP apologist for this blatant wholesale mockery of our dear Party and its leaders?

Unlike the leaders who converged on Ughelli to ventilate vengeful animosity, the former Deputy President of the Senate and charismatic Leader of the APC in Delta State, His Excellency, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, just concluded a tour of the 25 Local Government Areas to, ostensibly, thank Party faithful for their steadfastness and re-energize the grassroots base of the Party. It bears mentioning that, through out the tour which he personally bankrolled, the Obarisi of Urhobo Land, insulted or castigated no leader of the Party. Instead, he spoke as the unmistakable authentic voice of opposition: indicting the PDP and demanding accountability from the Governor with regards to the over N1trillion allocations he has received since assuming office. His salvo so rattled the PDP-led government that the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, went into overdrive in his desperate efforts to debunk some of the salient issues raised.

Leadership, at any level, is functional, not titular. Between a man whose sagacious leadership culminated in the Party winning two senatorial seats, one House of Representatives, and seven House of Assembly seats in the 2023 general elections and a college of self-styled leaders who appear hellbent on settling old political scores than advancing a common cause, the people shouldn’t have any difficult zeroing-in on who can – and should – lead them. It is about time these leaders jettisoned their ego and sacrificed personal ambition on the altar of collective interest.

Fostering harmony and cohesion within Delta APC ahead of the 2027 election circle is not rocket science. Instead, it is a collective responsilibity that has become imperative for the realization of the common good. Insisting on an unconstitutional Leadership Council, driven by some bile-filled vengeful proponents with a predetermined outcome as can be gleaned from the Ughelli event, shouldn’t be the only pathway to unity. A cocktail of sincere reconciliation, wholesome integration, and selfless sacrifice will do the magic – any day, any time.

Kennedy Bienose, is a public affairs analyst