The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has resolved to take legal action against Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and others who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
After a six-hour closed-door meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, April 29, the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) directed its national legal adviser to begin the process of reclaiming what it described as the party’s “stolen mandate” in Delta State.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the party formally instructed its legal team to pursue court proceedings against Oborevwori and fellow defectors.
The PDP also moved to stabilise its structure in the state by appointing its South-South Zonal Chairman, Emma Ogidi, to lead reorganisation efforts.
Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum said, “We have also instructed the national legal adviser to recover our mandate that they have taken away.
“The fortune of this party cannot be just left in the hands of our adversaries, so you (the national legal adviser) will take legal action to retrieve those mandates.
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“We’ve just instructed the zonal caretaker committee to oversee the party in Delta, after dissolving all the structures that have already been there since the majority of them have shifted.”
The NWC also ratified recommendations from the PDP Governors’ Forum and announced that the next National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will hold on May 28, while its national convention is scheduled for August 28 to 30, 2025.
The mass defection that triggered the PDP’s latest response occurred on April 23, when Governor Oborevwori, his deputy Monday Onyeme, and several political allies, including commissioners, local government chairmen, and grassroots operatives, officially joined the APC.
They were welcomed into the ruling party by Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and Imo State Governor and Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman Hope Uzodimma.
Also switching sides was former Delta governor and PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
The APC described the wave of defections as a “movement,” framing it as a major political shift that could reshape the landscape ahead of the 2027 elections.