In a high‑profile event hosted by Delta State Chairman of the ADC, Engr. Austine Okolie, the veteran politician Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru is the latest major figure to formally join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Known as a “People’s General,” Ogboru’s realignment represents a bold turn in Delta State politics, where mass defections have already reshaped the landscape. Notably, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the Speaker and entire PDP structure in Delta crossed over to the APC earlier in 2025 effectively collapsing the PDP stronghold that had endured since 1999 (allAfrica.com).
With Chief Ogboru now aligned with ADC, he will coordinate efforts with Delta State ADC leaders such as Hon. Kenneth Gbandi and elders like Professor Pat Utomi. Together, they aim to challenge the APC’s dominance in Delta, applying political wisdom and grassroots strategy. ADC has become a political Mecca, attracting defectors from LP, PDP, and even APC, both in Delta State and nationwide. This influx follows national trends: prominent figures such as Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar are reportedly considering or have joined the ADC platform ahead of the 2027 elections; analysts see ADC increasingly as the principal opposition coalition (Wikipedia).
High‑profile decampments from LP and PDP are strengthening the ADC’s positioning across the South‑South and beyond (Vanguard News).
For Delta State in particular, Engr. Austine Okolie faces the complex task of uniting a new coalition comprising defectors from major parties, merging COPDEM members under ADC as early as February 2025, and providing meaningful leadership to a rapidly expanding membership base (African Heritage Magazine).
Key Dynamics:
- APC’s surge: With PDP’s collapse, the APC now controls Delta’s House of Assembly and federal legislative seats—following mass defections led by the governor and state leadership (situationroomng.org).
- ADC’s emergence: Initially marginal, ADC is now drawing major actors and movements, positioning itself as a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.
- Strategic coalition-building: The ADC is consolidating grassroots alliances, including civil‑society platforms like COPDEM and prominent political figures, to build a broad‑based movement.
- Ogboru’s joining ADC: This marks a dramatic shift: after earlier joining APC earlier in 2025, Ogboru now aligns with ADC a sign of the evolving alliances and ideological recalibration among opposition leaders (The Guardian Nigeria, African Heritage Magazine).
As the 2027 elections draw nearer, ADC under Okolie’s leadership in Delta State will need to manage a coalition of seasoned politicians, grassroots activists, and defections from across the political spectrum. The political calculus is wildly changing: Delta is no longer a PDP fortress; instead, the battleground has shifted to ADC versus APC, with the ADC striving to convert defections and public disillusionment into meaningful political traction.
With both state and national figures eyeing ADC as the strategic vehicle for opposition unity including potential candidacies from Atiku and Obi, the coming months will be critical. Engr. Austine Okolie’s stewardship of the ADC in Delta State and interplay of the old gladiators and global best practices and leadership experience may well define whether the party can translate momentum into electoral success in 2027.
Delta State Political watchdog group (DPWG)
