A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has downplayed the recent defection of key Delta State politicians to the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that it poses no real threat to the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, the PDP chieftain described the defections as a familiar political episode that holds little long-term consequence for the PDP.
His remarks come in the wake of the defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy, Monday Onyeme, and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, along with several commissioners and political stakeholders in the state, to the APC on Wednesday.
Asked what the mass movement of PDP members in Delta—reportedly including former Governor James Ibori and other political heavyweights—says about the party’s current state, George dismissed any concerns.
“Nothing. Nothing. The fact that these guys moved en masse… the people of Delta are waiting. Because what impact has the APC, as a government, given to the people? There is anger in the land. What do you think they are going to do there, if not for personal embellishment?” the former Ondo State military governor said.
The 79-year-old added, “The people of Delta are naturally PDP members. They know the kind of positive impact they enjoyed under the PDP national government. So, if you now decide to go, we wish you the best of luck. We’ve seen it before—those who trooped out eventually came back, because they’re heading into an organisation that is so personally owned.”
When pressed further about the significance of losing such a wide array of political figures—including the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP in 2023, Okowa himself—George remained unshaken.
“Is it new in the land?” he asked rhetorically. “You’ve forgotten the time when heavyweights left during the national convention of our party? Let me ask you—those already in APC, do you think they’ll fold their arms and say ‘welcome’? They have their ambitions too—governorship, National Assembly, local government. You can’t just waltz in and take over.”