By Levinus Nwabughiogu & Omeiza Ajayi

The national secretariat of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abuja became a beehive of activities on Tuesday when Delta political heavyweights stormed the place. This is an insider’s account of what transpired.

His political sagacity in Delta State paid off on Tuesday. He had fought gallantly to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2015 general elections but lost. Feeling short-changed, he launched a legal battle which was halted by the Supreme Court judgment that retained Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.  He disagreed with the verdict. But then, the highest court in the land had ruled and ended all legal voyages as far as the 2015 Delta gubernatorial election was concerned.

But the dogged candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Ologorun O’tega Emerhor, in that election wouldn’t give up. His dream of evolving a new Delta with the zeal to upgrade the infrastructure status and establish industries for youth employment was the fire in his ambition. And so, he came up with another strategy, perhaps, the same strategy you would say changed the status of the present APC from being an opposition to the ruling party at the federal level.

Emerhor went back to the drawing board. He reached out to like minds in the state. Consequently, a former opposition figure from the Labour Party, Chief Great Ogboru, and an emerging political force,  Victor Ochei,  a former Speaker of Delta State Assembly have been united with the broom to sweep away the PDP in 2019.

Indeed, anyone who knows the trio would not doubt their political prowess in Delta State and with them, PDP in the state may have to beg for a foothold soon. The Emerhor, Ogboru and Ochei are  undaunted to achieve the objective. To this end, Emerhor, who obviously  brokered the political alliance, unveiled the bigwigs and a host of their supporters before the National Working Committee, NWC, of the  APC on Tuesday in Abuja in a colorful event.

He said that party in the state has opened discussions with some other key elements of the ruling party in the state.

“For too long, you have heard and received only discouraging news from Delta state. Delta state participated in the last general elections and voted for President Muhammadu Buhari but unfortunately like most states in the South-South, we were robbed by the PDP of our governorship despite our gallant fight up to the Supreme Court”, the Delta APC leaders said.

“We come here forcefully having been able to bring together a wide spectrum of leaders and followers in Delta state. We have been in discussion with opposition political heavyweights in Delta state who we know if they join us, Delta Government House in Asaba would be ours”.

While receiving them, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, expressed confidence in the ability of the party to assume the reins of governance in the state in 2019.

“I am today very confident that we have a strong APC in Delta state. I am very confident that we have an energized APC in Delta state. Today, we have in our midst, people who understand what it means to be in power because they had been in power”, Odigie Oyegun said.

On his part, Deputy National Chairman, South, Mr Segun Oni, said the party remained open to good-spirited politicians in the state who may want to join hands in dislodging the  PDP from the Government House, Asaba.

He pledged the commitment of the NWC of the party to continue to maintain an all-inclusive stance so that members can find political expression.

In his remarks, Ogboru said he had collapsed his entire Labour Party structure into the APC, pledging to work with like-minds in the party to enhance its fortunes in the state.

Also speaking, Ochei recounted how he and some of his colleagues were the think-tank of the PDP, saying with their defection to APC, the PDP has lost out in the politics of Delta state.

The party is now expected to fix a date to receive the thousands of supporters of the defectors in Delta.