The Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Mr Olisa Ifeajika, has said the performance of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori will be the major selling point of his bid for a second term in office in the 2027 general elections.
Ifeajika made the assertion while featuring on Politics HQ on News Central Television, where he maintained that his support for the governor was based primarily on his administration’s achievements rather than party affiliation.
According to him, Oborevwori remains his political project for 2027 because of what he described as the governor’s visible impact across Delta State.
“The governor of this state, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, is my project in the forthcoming general elections because we want to return him as our governor, not just because he is our party man, but because of the work he is doing in Delta,” he said.
Ifeajika also explained Oborevwori’s declaration that his political project was the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, saying the governor could simultaneously support Tinubu’s second-term bid and seek re-election as Delta governor.
He noted that since Oborevwori is now a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), supporting the party’s presidential candidate was consistent with his political affiliation.
“He is an APC man, so he will talk about the President of Nigeria, who is of the same party with him, being re-elected. That was what he meant when he said his project is to ensure that Bola Tinubu is re-elected as President of Nigeria,” Ifeajika said.
Performance as Campaign Message
The governor’s aide said the APC would rely substantially on the administration’s record in presenting its case to voters ahead of the 2027 elections.
He described Oborevwori as a candidate whose achievements had created strong public acceptance, arguing that the governor’s popularity extended beyond party lines.
“The performance of our governor speaks for itself. Everybody is applauding what the man is doing in the state,” he said.
Ifeajika added that Oborevwori was “a good product that is selling itself,” insisting that his administration’s performance remained a stronger electoral asset than partisan considerations.
“Even if we were not in the APC, for instance, we would have still won the elections, because our governor is a performing governor acknowledged by everybody in the state,” he added.
Subsidy Removal Necessary, Says Aide
Turning to the national economy, Ifeajika defended the Tinubu administration’s removal of the petrol subsidy, acknowledging the hardship that followed the policy but arguing that it was necessary to halt what he described as an unsustainable practice of borrowing to fund subsidy payments.
He compared the economic reforms to farming, noting that difficult stages such as clearing, planting and weeding must take place before the benefits of harvest can be realised.
“What we are going through in this country now is like a farmer. To farm, you first clear the bush before planting, weeding and eventually harvesting. It takes a process,” he said.
Ifeajika argued that Nigeria had reached a point where borrowed funds were being used to finance fuel subsidy, describing the situation as economically unsustainable.
“In this country, we knew that at some point Nigeria was borrowing money to pay for subsidy. Not the money we earned; we were borrowing money to pay for subsidy. That was so irregular,” he said.
According to him, increased allocations to state governments following the removal of the subsidy had strengthened their capacity to meet obligations to workers and pensioners.
He cited instances in which some states previously struggled to pay salaries for extended periods, saying such situations had significantly improved.
“In this country, I am aware that between 2018 and 2019, two states in the North-Central lost so many civil servants out of hunger and starvation because they were not paid salaries for periods ranging from nine to 11 months,” he said.
Ifeajika maintained that the current situation had improved, claiming that workers were now receiving salaries and pensioners were being paid more regularly.
“No state in this country is owing salaries anymore. Pensioners are being paid. Those times when you found pensioners lined up for screening, endless screening, with some dying in the process, you don’t find such things anymore. That era is gone,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing economic difficulties, stressing that the focus should now be on ensuring that the additional resources available to governments translate into tangible improvements in citizens’ welfare.
“The issue is how the states are deploying the funds available to them to make sure that the people at the lower rungs of the society feel the impact,” he said.
APC Targets 2027 Victory in Delta
On the 2027 elections, Ifeajika said the APC in Delta State would continue to highlight the achievements of the Oborevwori administration while strengthening communication with voters on government policies and projects.
He said the governor’s performance had helped deepen public confidence in the administration and strengthen its relationship with residents across the state.
Ifeajika further argued that the administration’s policies and projects had increasingly convinced Deltans that Oborevwori was committed to improving their welfare.
“Delta State is one place that the political party we are in as a ruling party is almost synonymous with the people. The works of the governor have been able to take the people to accept that this is the way to go, that the man feels for them and feels the right thing for the people,” he said.
