A fierce internal battle has erupted within the All Progressives Congress in Delta State over the zoning of the party’s chairmanship position, with chieftains and coalitions from different senatorial districts staking competing claims based on equity, historical precedent, and party unity.
“Governor Oborevwori should consider the old members of APC in his government across the state. It is the turn of Delta North to produce the Chairman as the Delta South and central have produced. Once it is zoned here we shall harmonize and present our best candidate. This will mend fences before 2027,” stated Chief Alex Ikpeazu, foundational chairman of the Delta North APC Coalition for Equity.
The coalition demanded zoning of the next APC State Chairmanship position to the Delta North Senatorial District, to be occupied by a long-standing APC member, citing the fact that Delta South and Delta Central had produced past and current state chairmen.
However, in a major development, the party clarified that the decision to zone the office to Delta South Senatorial District was not the action of any single individual. Rather, the move followed broad consultations involving party leaders, elders, and stakeholders from the three senatorial districts.
Delta State chairmanship aspirant Ebiakpo Ezebri alleged that the party’s state chairmanship position was zoned to Delta South and handed to a former Delta PDP Chairman “allegedly at the instance of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori,” contrary to earlier agreements reached by party leaders and stakeholders.
The APC leadership dismissed accusations credited to Ezebri, who alleged that Governor Oborevwori imposed a candidate in the congress process. The party stated that no individual had been imposed as Chairman of the Delta State APC, insisting that the claims were deliberately crafted to misinform members, sow division, and undermine what it described as a transparent and constitutionally guided exercise.
Delta South leaders have maintained that historical political balancing in the state supports their claim to the chairmanship, especially given the present configuration of top government offices. They insist their demand is rooted in equity and long-standing power-sharing traditions, not political agitation Daily Post Nigeria.
Delta North, on the other hand, had earlier convened and openly articulated its interest in producing the next state chairman. Leaders from the zone are said to view any delay as a strategic attempt to weaken their negotiating strength ahead of future congresses.
The Delta North APC Coalition warned that unless immediate steps were taken, internal cohesion within the party may be weakened as the nation moves towards the 2027 elections. “We have laboured and suffered enough to allow the house we built through years of sweat to crumble before our very eyes,” they claimed.
According to reliable party sources, Governor Oborevwori is pushing for a continuity arrangement that would allow current chairman Omeni Sobotie to continue until after the 2027 elections. Under the reported plan, Sobotie would later resign to pave the way for a new chairman to emerge through a consensus process.
The zoning controversy reflects deeper tensions following Governor Oborevwori’s defection from the PDP to the APC with his political structure, creating friction between founding APC members who built the party from scratch and newer entrants who joined with the governor.
As Delta APC prepares for congresses, the chairmanship dispute threatens to fracture the party’s fragile unity ahead of the crucial 2027 elections, with leaders from all three senatorial districts calling for equity, inclusion, and respect for internal democracy.
