A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State has dragged Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to the Federal High Court in Abuja over his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The suit was filed by Alex Akporute, a PDP member from Ward 3/7 in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, who is challenging the legality of the governor’s move from the PDP to the APC while still in office.
Governor Oborevwori is listed as the first defendant in the suit. Other defendants include the PDP, APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Attorney-General of Delta State.
The plaintiff is asking the court to determine whether a sitting governor can defect to another political party and still retain the electoral mandate secured on the platform of the party that sponsored his election.
Akporute argues that while the 1999 Constitution guarantees freedom of association, such right does not extend to transferring an electoral mandate from one political party to another. He maintains that the mandate belongs to the PDP, under which Oborevwori contested and won the governorship election.
He further contends that the governor’s defection undermines the will of the electorate in Delta State and weakens democratic principles if allowed without constitutional consequences.
According to the plaintiff, Oborevwori’s continued stay in office while aligning with the APC breaches provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that the governor cannot lawfully implement or promote APC policies having not been elected on that platform.
Among the reliefs sought are declarations that any executive actions taken by the governor on the platform of the APC are unconstitutional and invalid, as well as an order restraining the APC from presenting itself as the ruling party in Delta State while Oborevwori remains governor. The suit also seeks a declaration nullifying the governor’s membership of the APC on the grounds that his defection violates constitutional and electoral provisions.
Unlike previous cases involving defecting governors, the suit does not ask the court to compel Oborevwori to vacate office but focuses on restricting the political and executive consequences of defection while in office.
