Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State says the All Progressives Congress, APC, will welcome former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori, into the party’s fold.

Oborevwori who recently defected to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party, made the remarks during the vigil mass held in honour of the former deputy governor of the state, Prof Amos Utuama.

DAILY POST reports that the mass was held on Wednesday at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Otu-Jeremi, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, who stressed the need for unity among the Urhobo political class, highlighted the selfless contributions of the transited former deputy governor.

“I am very happy to be here today, seeing this large gathering for one man. The preaching today is not about the dead, it is about the living.

“There are many things our former deputy governor did while he was alive. I will mention just a few key ones.

“He donated the land allocated to him in Asaba while he was deputy governor to the Catholic Church.

“He also contributed to building of the church. To me, that is a kingdom investment,” he said.

Oborevwori prayed that the passing of the deceased would bring peace and unity to Ughelli South and the entire Urhobo ethnic group.

In his exhortation, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Warri, Most Rev. Anthony Ewherido, affirmed that the late Prof. Amos Utuama lived an impactful life in both the church and the society.

Ewherido condoled with the family, urging them to uphold the legacies of their father which were: godliness, humility, charity and selflessness.

The bishop described the death of a Christian as a transition to eternal glory and reminded everyone of the need to accept Christ while alive to enjoy eternity after the physical death.

He also called for continued unity among the political class for the peace and development of the state.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr Ovie Utuama, son of the deceased, appreciated all for their support and requested prayers for the family during this difficult period.

Abba Moro, the senator representing Benue south, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have won the 2023 presidential election if it had not chosen Ifeanyi Okowa as the running mate of Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Moro said the choice of Okowa, the former governor of Delta state, as the opposition party’s vice-presidential candidate was a “serious mistake“.

This is coming on the heels of a comment by Okowa, who said he regretted being Abubakar’s running mate during the 2023 elections.

Okowa, who spoke on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, said his being the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate was against his people’s will.

On April 23, Okowa and Sheriff Oborevwori, governor of Delta, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former governor of Delta said his defection to the ruling party was in the “best interest of our people” and the need for the people of the state to “connect to Abuja”.

However, Moro said Okowa’s claim of regret after the PDP failed to win the presidential election in Delta state showed that his “soul” was not in the party.

“Given what we know now, with the hindsight that we have now, some of us think that the party would have won the election if other candidates, other than Okowa, had been picked as the vice-presidential candidate from the south,” the Benue senator said.

“I think there is an error of judgment on the part of everybody that was involved in the choice of Okowa as the candidate.

“How else would you characterise this scenario that a sitting governor, a former senator, and a presidential candidate of a party couldn’t deliver his state even to the presidential candidate?”

“And to think that two out of the senators from that state were from the opposition parties other than the PDP.

“So, I think that picking Okowa as the vice-presidential candidate in 2023 was a very serious mistake.”

Moro added that Okowa’s action showed a lack of commitment to the party.

“As it is now, you can safely conclude that we lost the election because of lack of commitment,” he said.

“Otherwise, how can you explain that shortly after losing his state, that ordinarily should have been a very easy pick for the PDP, instead of rendering an apology to the party and Nigeria, he’s now talking about regretting being on the ticket?

“His soul was not in the PDP. His soul was not in that election, and that is why we performed very miserably in Delta state.”

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Jesutega Onokpasa says President Bola Tinubu has failed woefully based on the performance of his administration.

Onokpasa stated this in an interview with Arise Television on Sunday, warning that the president may end up being a one-term president if he did not improve in his performance.

Onokpasa also expressed school why Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, who he referred to as his cousin, defected to the APC.

According to him, the governor’s defection to the ruling party does not add any value to the APC or the state.

The APC chieftain reiterated that the ruling party should not focus on the defection of opposition politicians into its fold but on good governance.

Onokpasa added that the defections of opposition leaders to the APC negate the principles of democracy.

“It is not a question of people defecting to our party. It is a question of are we ruling well? In that sense, we failed woefully.

“President Bola Tinubu has failed woefully to rule well, provide food for Nigerians, and give succour in these hard times.

“Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who recently defected to our party, is actually my cousin. I don’t have the slightest idea why he defected to our party. He did not inform me. I wish him well,” he said.