By Ovasa Ogaga,

Despite the much-hyped defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, peace remains a distant mirage for the Delta State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The grand political takeover, touted to usher in a new era, has instead failed spectacularly, leaving many former PDP stakeholders questioning the very intent of this audacious, yet flawed, manoeuvre.

This union of politically strange bedfellows is less a marriage and more a forced alliance, devoid of genuine consent. Such unholy alliances are destined for either a terrible, toxic existence or an inevitable, messy divorce. For Delta APC, the latter looms large, threatening to leave one party, likely the long-suffering original APC members, unjustly bruised.

The crisis within Delta APC mirrors a band of armed robbers, fresh from a successful heist, now locked in a brutal struggle over their ill-got gains. Unquenchable, inordinate ambitions for power have eclipsed any semblance of equitable sharing, ensuring the centre simply cannot hold.

As these factions scramble to outsmart each other and grab the lion’s share, Deltans, long docile in their political slumber, may soon be jolted awake, ready to reclaim their state from these rapacious gangs who have plundered its resources for over two decades.

Will the Omo-Agege loyalists and the disgruntled former PDP members, who defected to reinvent their political aspirations, now quietly submit to the very forces that drove them from their former party? Absolutely not. This, and countless other unaddressed fractures, will ignite a far more potent and devastating crisis within Delta APC.

The celebratory drums will scarcely fade before an irresistible implosion rocks the party to its core. Rewarding those whose actions and inactions led to the PDP’s near-destruction in 2023 is a perverse logic that has no place in genuine political development. The architects of that misfortune deserve to eat the bread of sorrow, not be elevated to higher callings.

Since the defection of Governor Oborevwori, Senator Okowa, and other former PDP stalwarts, there has been a glaring absence of concrete political effort to unite the old APC members with these new entrants. Recent attempts at “unity meetings” in Delta Central have yielded nothing but further evidence of a gaping chasm.

The conspicuous absence of former DSP Omo-Agege, his loyalists, and even former Governor James Ibori’s supporters from these gatherings screams that all is not well. Political analysts can clearly see the massive crack threatening the very fortune of the APC in Delta State.

A similar charade played out last weekend at a Delta North unity meeting. Key stakeholders, including former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the current deputy governor, all current appointees of Governor Oborevwori, and those who served under Okowa’s administration, brazenly shunned the meeting. Even supporters of former DSP Omo-Agege stayed away, leaving in its wake a controversial statement from the party’s ward and local government executives – a desperate attempt to paper over irreconcilable differences.

As it stands, the party is more fractured than ever, riddled with political dysfunction and neglect. Just as the PDP grapples at the national level, Delta APC faces its profound leadership vacuum. The supposed state leader has conspicuously failed to demonstrate leadership since his defection over a month ago. His actions–or, more accurately, his inaction–betray a selective inclusion that is steering the party towards an even greater crisis, particularly with the looming state party congresses.

The APC cannot continue down this destructive path. It is demonstrably failing to provide the leadership necessary to win future elections in Delta. At best, this government has become utterly reactionary in its approach, evidenced by its abysmal handling of protests against insecurity in Abraka and the tragic 16-year darkness endured by the Ndokwa people, who inexplicably host an IPP that the government refuses to step down for their benefit.

These crippling internal conflicts have completely derailed the party’s focus. Urgent, decisive steps are paramount to re-energise party activities and establish a genuine, equitable power-sharing arrangement between the original APC members and the new entrants. Without giving the founding members a true sense of belonging, but continuing to be treated as second-class citizens within a system now dominated by recent defectors, will create more friction.

This is the very heart of the crisis – a cancer that could fatally undermine the party’s chances in the 2027 general elections. If the leaders fail to close ranks, and if Governor Oborevwori does not display true leadership by uniting all the warring interests, then Deltans will deliver a shock that will leave the APC reeling!