The All Progressives Congress (APC) congress in Delta State, convened on Tuesday in Asaba as a platform to project unity ahead of the 2027 elections, instead laid bare deepening divisions within the party following the absence of several heavyweight figures.

The meeting, held at the Cenotaph in the state capital, was shunned by former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator Ned Nwoko, and House of Representatives member Eritake Ibori-Suenu, alongside other influential stakeholders.

Their non-attendance cast a pall over the exercise and sharpened speculation about widening fault lines within the Delta chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Although no official explanation was offered for the boycott, party sources told newsmen the absent leaders felt marginalised during the planning and execution of the congress and opted to stay away with their supporters.

Despite the high-profile absences, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his allies pressed ahead, producing a new State Working Committee dominated by politicians who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Chief Solomon Arenyeka emerged as state chairman by consensus, alongside Elder Moses Iduh as deputy chairman and Chief Efe Uko as state secretary with other positions also filled through consensus arrangements.

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Political observers said the outcome pointed less to internal consolidation than to what one party insider described as a “complete takeover” by former PDP elements aligned with the governor. 

According to the source, the process amounted to a political transformation in which “Delta PDP has swallowed Delta APC — only the name has changed.”

The congress is widely viewed as consolidating Oborevwori’s grip on the party machinery in the state, while sidelining long-standing APC figures who built the party during its years in opposition.

Addressing party members, Oborevwori rejected claims of imposition, insisting the process was consultative and inclusive.

“There was no imposition. What we witnessed is broad consultation, agreement and inclusiveness. This structure belongs to all of us,” he said.

The governor linked the party’s reorganisation in Delta to what he described as the renewed vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and was confident that the APC would secure victories across all tiers of government.

“Our mission is unequivocal. We must secure victory at every level,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Arenyeka pledged loyalty to the governor’s leadership and promised to deliver all APC candidates in the 2027 polls.

“We have heard the marching orders from our leader. By God’s grace, we shall deliver,” he said.