Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta are now loyal to Sheriff Oborevwori, governor of the state.
On April 23, Oborevwori and other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) bigwigs in Delta state, defected to the APC.
Speaking on Sunday during a meeting with Oborevwori, Keyamo said the APC structure in Delta is now fully under the governor’s control.
“We are here today as one unit, the gatekeepers of the party,” he said.
“These are the gatekeepers of the party in Delta state. The three senators… the three are seated here. The only member of the house of representatives, the only single one, is here.
“These are the gatekeepers, like I said, of the APC in Delta. Outside this group, there is no APC in Delta.
“If decisions are to be taken, these are the people that sit down with the state chairman to take a decision regarding the APC. If anybody tells you otherwise, the person must be a comedian.”
Keyamo said Oborevwori will now be relied on to provide direction for the APC in Delta.
“We are here, sir, to wholeheartedly, 100% welcome you to the APC, sir. We welcome you unconditionally, sir. I repeat, sir, we welcome you unconditionally to the APC,” he said.
The minister described Oborevwori’s defection as a blessing to the party, President Bola Tinubu, and the people of the state.
“It’s a blessing to us, a blessing to the state, a blessing to Mr President, a blessing to the good people of Delta state that Delta state is now aligned with the ruling party at the centre so the synergy will be incredible,” he said.
“As our leader, undisputed leader, we wholeheartedly surrender to your leadership and ask for directions at all times.
“When you say we go, we go. When you say you don’t go, we don’t go. That is the state as it is today. There is no division today, sir, it is blended as one in Delta state.”
On the recent defections, Ajibola Basiru, national secretary of the APC, likened the ruling party to Jehovah’s Witnesses — a Christian group famed for its door-to-door evangelism.
He said one of the policies of the APC is to build a functional and efficient party structure at every level of governance.
