By Onochie Anibeze

His convivial nature portrays him as a jolly good fellow.
An interaction with him would not reveal if there’s tension around him, or in Delta State, following his recent defection to APC from PDP—a party which provided him the platform he rose to be Governor after serving as Speaker of the State House of Assembly.

Sheriff Oborevwori is full of life. He is lively, he cracks jokes and he is down to earth. One would expect a governor who was moving the government of a strong PDP to another party to be a little uneasy while discussing the recent switch. Was he sure the people of the state would move with him? Could he guarantee that? Are the people with him? Sheriff exuded unbelievable confidence while he interacted with some media men in Asaba. He never flinched. No doubt he took a difficult decision but he loudly spoke about his consultations and how the people agreed that PDP, as they are today, would not guarantee victory in 2027. That is as far as politics would be played. Aside politicking, Sheriff is confident that his work would speak for him. And that’s why he is confident that 2027 will not be a sad commentary for him after the polls. The media men had toured some of the projects his government had embarked on. Take this: The Asaba – Ugheli road that takes you to Warri was about three hours journey before. Now, the dual carriage way may not be more two hours journey. It could even be less than two hours now. The work is solid, not what you see in many other states. And more work is even ongoing in other places. The flyover bridges and road networks in Warri are changing the face of the oil city. Our tour guide was Charles Aniagwu, the Commissioner for Works and Public Information. He delighted in showing us the projects that every government would be proud of. Education, healthcare and infrastructure development are sectors that Delta State under the new Sheriff is excelling. Delta is the only state in the country with four state universities. The work going on at the Ozoro campus of the Delta Southern University is massive. Many Nigerian universities can’t boast of what Delta State is constructing there, yet it’s just a campus of the main university. The Omadina Technical School is excellent. “We have eight new technical schools in the making, three are already on and there are six old ones,”Aniagwu said while celebrating the importance of the technical schools and how many parents are opting for them for their children. “The technical schools prepare students for life, for different careers and skills,”he enthused, adding
“the students are already doing some engineering, electronic and other works.”

Sheriff is banking on his works in Delta to earn him a second tenure, not any political party although he reckons that the crisis in the PDP would not ensure a smooth sail. And to be safe from some technicalities that may deny him the fruits of his labour, he pitched camp with the ruling party at the centre. In Nigeria, a man can win 70 percent of the votes but would be declared the loser and told to go to court where justice is hardly guaranteed. This, Sheriff fears, may disrupt the good work he is doing for the good people of Delta State. And as it stands or as he sees it, if defecting to APC would ensure continuity of the good works for his people why not bow to those who wield the big stick. And that’s what Aniagwu meant when he repeatedly said that the taste of the palm wine has changed, and therefore the drinking pattern would change. Aniagwu captures a good picture of the situation in Delta State and the governor even confirmed that his proficiency earned him the job of information dissemination and management aside his portfolio as works commissioner. He is truly the next face of the government aside that of Sheriff Oborevwori.

“I’m here to serve the people,” the governor said loudly while addressing the journalists after the project tour. He was not making a formal speech. It was an interaction that made him free to spice his remarks with jokes, and some facts about what fueled the change in Delta State.

“Politics is tough in Nigeria. I went through a lot to be here,”Sheriff Oborevwori said in the interaction with journalists. If I knew it was like this, I probably wouldn’t have gone into this. There were lies, blackmail and so many dirty things that shocked me. People went to court to say I didn’t go to school. It was unbelievable but some people believed them. I had my diploma and had my degree in political science but the noise was so loud that some people believed them. That’s how Mideno Bayagbon (former Editor of Vanguard ) came and said, ‘what’s all this, I know this man, why are they telling lies against him?’ The blackmail was terrible. It was shocking. I won 36 cases in court. Is that not a record? I would not have gone into this if I knew it was like this. But I’m here to serve the people. We have paid about N300 billion debt. We pay contractors 40 percent mobilisation fees and as at today, we are not owing any contractor. It has never happened before. IGR was about N83 billion when we came in. It is N158 billion today. There were shootings at Ikpa when we came in. It is a thing of the past today. Night life is back in Warri. Delta is a difficult state to govern but we are doing our best. We have Warri, Ozoro, Ughelli, Oleh, Ogwashi Uku, Oghara, Agbor, Issele-Uku, Patani, Asaba, Ibuzor etc. There are states that have just the capital and the rest are rural areas, some have just two cities. Delta State has many. What you do in one area, you try to replicate in other zones. That’s Delta for you. But we are not deterred by the challenges. We are more challenged to do more and we shall not relent.”

Oborevwori strongly believes that his work would campaign for the 2027 election, but being in the ruling party would provide a platform to contest, which nobody is sure PDP would provide the way they are now. 2027 is still far and the governor says it would pay him to focus on good governance for now.