In order to present the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a cohesive party deserving of election and reelection at all levels in 2027, it was intended to be a Congress of Unity and Reconciliation.
However, the outcomes of the party’s congresses demonstrated that the actors have not yet learned from their past election manipulation and crisis management.
Allegations of rigging and outright hijacking of party machinery by various factions in almost all of the state’s 500 wards were reported during the state’s most recent Congress.
Up to four factions allegedly held parallel congresses, each claiming to be the legitimate group in each of Delta State’s 25 local governments.
As they rallied supporters to guarantee their supporters’ victory, the incumbent governor’s power loomed enormous.
Some factions, however, rejected them because they believed the development was the first step in the governor’s plan to prevent his alleged political rivals from seizing power in 2027.
Senator Ovie Omo Agege, the country’s former Senate deputy president, resides in the Ughelli North Local Government area, which has become the most volatile location for blatant displays of power.
In the same Federal constituency, Governor Sheriff Oborevbore reportedly produced his own list of loyalists, while Senator Ovie Omo Agege reportedly had a list of supporters whom he attempted to install as executives.
While the former deputy Senate President’s supporters worked from hotels, the governor’s supporters, who were dispersed around the state, functioned from government house in Asaba.
It was thought that the degree of resistance to the governor in some of the state’s municipal governments added to his anxiety.
After a reported attack on the supporters of the former governor’s daughter, Mrs. Ibori Suenu, who represents the Ethiopia Federal constituency in the National Assembly, Congress at the residence of former Governor James Onanefe Ibori in Ethiope West Local Government was brutal.
The Congress had hardly begun when heavily armed gunmen with a variety of weaponry, including double barrel guns, AK-47s, pump action, and combat axes, entered the arena, according to an eyewitness.
According to the article, more than twenty party faithful may have suffered significant injuries, while the exact number of casualties was unknown at the time of publication.
The Congress had just begun at the IKA Federal Constituency, the home of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, when a few miscreants who were thought to be loyal to one of the groups tried to disrupt it. However, they were thwarted by civil defense corps members who had been called to the Congress site.
The congresses were peaceful at Koko, Warri North Local Government area, where Evangelist Michael Diden, Chief Solomon Areyinka, Hon. Alfred Martins, and Festus Ashima, the local government chairman, reside.
The overall prediction for the voting pattern remained unchanged.
While security guards sent to the location were essentially inactive, Mr. Festus Ashima, the chairman of the local government council, made sure there was peace and order.