2027: Ogboru Can Break Delta’s 27-Year PDP/APC Cycle, Says ADC

The Delta State Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Fred Akpewe, has said the party’s governorship hopeful, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, is capable of ending what he described as 27 years of PDP/APC political dominance, suffering, unemployment and developmental stagnation in the state.

Akpewe said a state like Delta, which has been governed for over 27 years without what he described as commensurate development, should not continue along the same political trajectory without a fundamental transformation.

The ADC spokesman said Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, a businessman with extensive experience in the private sector, has presented himself as an alternative and credible candidate capable of taking Delta State to the next level of development.

He said Ogboru’s private-sector background provides a platform for his argument that government should become an engine of economic opportunity rather than the largest employer and contractor.

According to Akpewe, Ogboru’s central message is that government should create an environment where Deltans can prosper rather than make them permanently dependent on government.

He said Ogboru “hates poverty with a passion” and has therefore made poverty alleviation a major plank of his proposed wealth-creation agenda ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Akpewe said Ogboru’s Equal Opportunity Local Government Development Initiative (EOLGDI) has become a blueprint for the proposed transformation of Delta State into a prosperity hub.

He noted that Delta is endowed with oil, gas, agriculture, waterways and human capital, stressing that Ogboru believes the state’s resources should translate into factories, employment opportunities and exports.

According to him, Ogboru’s vision is to transform Delta from a consuming economy into a producing economy through an aggressive programme of embedded generation, independent power projects, mini-grids and public-private partnerships, particularly for industrial clusters and communities.

He said Ogboru’s healthcare programme would focus on primary healthcare, maternal and child health, emergency response, rural healthcare, medical equipment and health insurance.

He added that the proposed programme would also include the establishment of more specialist hospitals and incentives for medical professionals to address brain drain and the “Japa” syndrome.

Akpewe further said Ogboru’s proposed youth development programme would include the Delta Youth Enterprise Fund, vocational and technical training, technology and digital skills, agricultural entrepreneurship, start-up grants and low-interest financing.

Other areas, he said, include apprenticeship programmes, sports and creative industry development, as well as government-backed procurement opportunities for small and medium-scale enterprises.

The ADC spokesman said Ogboru was also proposing a community-centred security strategy involving traditional institutions, local communities, technology, intelligence gathering and closer cooperation with Federal security agencies.

He stressed that Ogboru was presenting himself as a Delta candidate rather than a sectional candidate, noting that he is paternally from Delta Central, maternally from Delta North and married from Delta South.

Akpewe said the combination of Ogboru’s economic, healthcare, youth, security and inclusive-development proposals provides what he described as a positive governing proposition rather than making the 2027 campaign solely a referendum on the incumbent or previous administrations.