The political landscape in Delta State has experienced a dramatic shake-up as over 1,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including prominent grassroots leaders and former stakeholders, officially dumped the ruling party to join the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The high-stakes defection ceremony went down in Agbor, headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area, drawing massive crowds of supporters from across all nine local government areas of the Delta North Senatorial District.
The defectors, largely operating under the umbrella of the Delta Coalition for Equity (DCFE), were led by community leader and former convener Chief Alex Ikpeazu. Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Ikpeazu did not mince words regarding their reasons for abandoning the APC, citing years of acute marginalization, broken promises, and political oppression orchestrated by heavyweights who previously migrated from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The people of Delta North have been marginalized, deprived, and oppressed, particularly by those who left the PDP to APC. We are tired of being neglected. The people were just waiting for someone to lead the way, and that time has come,” Ikpeazu declared.
The mass movement is seen as a major morale booster for the NDC, which is aggressively building structures ahead of the 2027 general elections. The new entrants explicitly pledged their unwavering support for the political platform’s overarching ambitions, aligning behind the national momentum of prominent figures like Peter Obi and rallying behind the party’s Delta State governorship hopeful, Deacon Yovwaye Chris.
Receiving the heavy-hitting delegation, NDC State Chairman Dr. Oyidobo Richmond assured the new members of absolute integration, emphasizing that the party operates on a strict principle of equality with no room for discrimination between old and new members.
Adding his voice to the reception, governorship candidate Deacon Yovwaye Chris framed the mass entry not merely as a defection, but as a historic grassroots awakening. However, he also seized the moment to take a swipe at the incumbent state administration, criticizing the heavy reliance on multi-billion-naira flyover projects in urban centers as a “misplaced priority” that ignores critical issues like rural security, youth unemployment, decaying inner-city infrastructure, and deteriorating healthcare.
As political maneuvering heats up toward 2027, this sweeping defection signals a volatile shifting of loyalties within the oil-rich state, leaving the APC scrambling to patch up its fractured grassroots base in Delta North.
