Governor Sheriff Oborevwori: History Beckons
By
U. E. Okolocha
Chief Samuel Jereton Mariere, GCON, Onisogene of Aboh (1907 – 1971) was the first Governor of Midwest Region (of which the present Delta State was an integral part).
Before then, he was an elected member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Urhobo East District. Although he was not an executive governor, Mariere was a good leader. The Premiere and Head of Government at that time, since the system of government was parliamentary, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Dennis Chukwude Osadebay (Osadennis), lawyer, poet, author and nationalist.
They ran a good government with many monuments still standing to their credit.
However, the opposition Action Group Party (AG) under the national leadership of the indomitable Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Awo) gave them and their Party, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) a run for every inch of the way.
The next civilian leaders of the era were Chief Demas Onoliobakpovba Akpore, Chief Patrick Odiete and Chief Ray Inije, all of whom were Deputy Governors: Akpore, Deputy to Prof. Ambrose Folorunso Alli of defunct Bendel State (1979 – 1982); Odiete, who took over as Deputy to Gov. Alli when Akpore resigned (1982 – 1983); and Inije, Deputy to Dr. S. O. Ogbemudia (Oct. – Dec., 1983).
Besides their being Deputies, their tenures were rather short for much to be done. Additionally, the party-political divides and antagonism of the time were sharp and as fierce as the electoral contests, reminiscent of the imbroglio of the first republic.
The first democratically elected Governor of Delta State was Olorogun Felix Ovudoroye Ibru (1935 – 2016).
His tenure was truncated by the Abacha military putsch of Nov 17, 1993. However, Ibru was later elected into the Senate (2003 – 2007) to represent Delta Central Senatorial District, and later still, elected President-General of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU). He was suave, urbane and populist politician, from an aristocratic family, whose tenure witnessed the establishment of the Delta State University, amongst other accomplishments.
Nevertheless, the opposition National Republican Convention (NRC) was on the heels of his party, the Social Democratic Party(SDP) and the administration he ran.
The second democratically elected Governor of the State was James Onanefe Ibori, an enigmatic, pragmatic and affable politician who ran a popular administration between 1999 and 2007, and instituted what approximates a political dynasty in the State, with a formidable line of successors: Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan (2007 – 20015); Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa (2015 – 2023); and Rt. Hon. Sherif Oborevwori (2023 – present day).
Notwithstanding the Asaba Airport of the Uduaghan regime and the many tertiary institutions of the Okowa era, Ibori’s administration has remained as impactful as his persona; with sagacity surviving all vicissitudes and tribulations. Yet, it was not all smooth sailing. The opposition All Peoples Party (APP, which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) may have been feeble but that of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) since 2015 has been trenchant and virulent. Indeed, the APC was expected by many to win the 2023 gubernatorial elections in the State.
If the victory of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Francis Orohwedor Oborevwori was a surprise to many, his switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC last Wednesday, April 23, 2025, was a shocker. It must be admitted that close observers had seen and predicted his move. But none saw its immediacy, totality and tumult.
It had the trappings of a military coup, executed with deftness and accuracy! Its acceptability with the Delta PDP and of course, across board in the receiving APC, accords it the garb of a political revolution.
It is, in effect, an emergency period – different from the involuntary emergency in Rivers State – with practically all the political actors in Delta State arrayed behind one leader!!
Fate and destiny have combined with faith and fortune to thrust on Governor Oborevwori’s shoulders the collective will and aspirations of Deltans. What will make him tower above all before him is personal decision, either to conquer all or to lead all.
With the strength with which he came into the APC, and given the susceptibility (some would say gullibility) of the political class, he can easily conquer all. But a political conquest will lack the legitimacy needed for peace, progress and prosperity.
To lead all, Gov. Oborevwori should be ready to embrace and accommodate all; to build a formidable team of able and capable hands from all persuasions within the new big APC and its Government. He should also move fast to bring on board all those whose personal ambitions may have been impacted one way or the other by his new standing, as well as those steeped in opposition. This is the choice before our new leader.
As Governor Oborevwori and all PDP leaders and followers formally join the APC in the mother of all rallies today, 28/04/2025, at Asaba, I pray God to give him the courage of his convictions, not only to do the right things but also to do things the right way, for his history beckons on him.
Dr. U. E. Okolocha is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Abuja.
