PDP: DEFECTION OF DELTA GOV, OTHERS UNFORTUNATE –DAMAGUM.(PHOTO).

 PDP: Defection of Delta gov, others unfortunate –Damagum

•Says 2027 contest between Tinubu and Nigerians

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, has described the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori and top members of the opposition party in the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as unfortunate.

Damagum, who stated this at the presentation of Certificate of Return to the PDP candidate for the November 8 Anambra State governorship poll, Jude Ezenwafor, said the party least expected that leaders of the Delta PDP would defect to the ruling party.

Senator James Manager, had after a meeting in Government House, Asaba, reportedly announced the defection of Oborevwori and leaders of the Delta PDP to the APC. Top shots, who defected alongside the governor, include his predecessor and PDP 2023 vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa.

However, Damagum expressed optimism that the defection would not have any adverse effect on the fortunes of the opposition party  in the 2027 general elections.

He said this is because the 2027 poll is a direct contest between President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian people. He stressed that the outcome of the next general elections would not be determined by the number of governors a political party has.

He recalled that in the 2023 polls, former Anambra governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, did not have any governor in his party prior to the contest, but performed very well in the poll.

“It is very sad and unfortunate  because to me, if there’s any state that should think that way, it should not be Delta because the party is very magnanimous. I thank God that in their message, they didn’t say that the party did anything wrong to them other than good.

“It is a decision taken by them, but the pains will be in us; not because of anything but because we have given Delta State all our support, from the emergence of the governor to his predecessor, who also doubled as our vice presidential candidate.

“I think we have done it all for them in Delta State. We least expected this action from them. All the same, this is a party that has seen more than that, but it is still standing.

“I want to use this opportunity to say that we will take over our structures immediately by setting up a caretaker. We are still taking stocks and we will do that immediately. I also want to remind our members, both in Delta and the country in general of what happened in 2023.  “Obi has no governor, but he muzzled all those votes that he muzzled. This election in 2027 is not about how many governors you have or how many leaders; it’s about Tinubu and Nigerians.  “The ordinary man is feeling the pinch and the decision is his. So, I want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that it is their election. It is APC versus Nigerians.

“It is not APC versus any governor or senator or anything but APC versus Nigerians,” the PDP chairman stated.

Damagum also urged the PDP members to close ranks and rescue themselves from the hardship that is inflicted on them by design, not by any coincidence.

He added: “We will experience a lot of challenges; but there is no challenge that is insurmountable. I thank God we are all people of faith. We know there is a limit to whatever one can do other than what God has designed.

“You may have your own tactics but you cannot outplay God. We leave our fate in the hands of God and we believe He will help us out of this great situation.”

Ezenwafor, while accepting his nomination as the PDP candidate in the November 8 Anambra gubernatorial poll, expressed appreciation to the party for the opportunity to be its standard bearer.

The governorship hopeful expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious at the polls.

According to him, “The result of this election is going to surprise the whole world. By the end of this election, other governors will come to learn from me. When I become the governor, I will replicate what I did when I was the Security Adviser to the governor.

“I want to tell all of us here that PDP is Anambra State and Anambra State is PDP. Very soon I will unveil my campaign strategy and it is going to involve all of us.”