The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) came to life in Delta state on Thursday, February 5, 2025, when its Caretaker Committee, led by Prof. Sylvester Monye from Onicha-Ugbo, was sworn in.
And it didn’t do it quietly; it made ripples, according to Saturday Vanguard. The roar was so loud that it could be heard all around Asaba, the capital of Delta State, and even farther away. It echoed over the whole state, carried by the wind of social media conversations.
First, the crowd. When I got to the OPAL Event Centre on Wednesday, February 4, there were only approximately 1000 seats set up.
The swearing-in of the Caretaker Committee was not meant to be a big affair because only a few people would be sworn in.
But a day later, only 30 minutes into the event, more than 2000 people had packed into the hall. More people were outside, and some found shelter in the buildings next to the venue. Outside, we had to rent hundreds of chairs.
There was a carnival going on, and people inside the OPAL Event Centre were singing and dancing. One speaker after another thanked the people for staying loyal to the PDP and promised that Delta State belongs to the PDP and that they will take it back from those who betrayed the party and left.
They asserted that the PDP has never lost an election in Delta state and that this record will still stand in 2027.
The people in charge were almost overwhelmed. People heard them talking about how to handle the big crowd. There was no entertainment planned, not even sachet water, let alone food or money to be shared among the people that came.
But when the celebration was over, everyone went in an orderly way, and no one asked for anything.
The location couldn’t have promised the huge success that the event turned out to be. The PDP had not said anything in Delta state since April of last year.
People began to line up behind the Governor of Delta state, Sheriff Francis Orowhedor Oborevwori, as he left the PDP to join the APC. The worst aspect was that he and his associates bragged that they had left with the whole party apparatus. There were no more PDP meetings in any part of the state. The party was dead.
Then, out of the blue, a few weeks ago, in the middle of court rulings that were at odds with each other and should have made the PDP faithful everywhere lose faith, the National Working Committee (NUC) named some people to the Caretaker Committees to run the party in certain states, including Delta State.
It was Delta State’s turn to swear in her Caretaker Committee on Thursday. People were sitting down and waited for the compere to start the event when one inspired man walked up to the front of the auditorium, took the microphone, and started talking. This turned into a song. He said, “Na our party be this ooo, we no get another one,” which means “This is our party, we don’t have another one.”
The loud answer echoed through the hall: “Na our party be this ooooo.” The call and response song went on for ten more minutes.
It seemed like all the people needed was that reminder. The PDP name seemed to have worked its spell, and the hall sprang to life. Later, I asked the man his name. He responded, “Johnbull, representing the good people of Ughelli South, Ughelli North, and Udu Federal Constituency.” He got things going, got everyone excited, and that fire never went out.
That was it; everyone who was still outside rushed in. There was just fire in the hall after that, not simply light. The PDP party officials who kept the faith, stayed the course, promised to go nowhere else, and declared they would stay in PDP come rain or fire proceeded to drive the crowd into a frenzy, one after the other. It seemed like the people in the audience hadn’t been to a gathering like this since Delta state stopped holding party events about a year ago. It seemed like they had been lost before, but now they were home.
Elder Emma Ogidi, the head of the South-South geopolitical zone, was asked to speak. For more over 20 years, he had been a rider in the political storm for the Delta PDP. This former Chairman of the Delta state PDP was in the trenches with James Onanefe Ibori, who was the Governor of Delta state from 1999 to 2007. At the same time, Chief Obielum was fighting Ibori for leadership of the party. Ogidi won easily against his biggest rival, Mallam Obi, in the end.
Ogidi showed some of what he’s made of on Thursday. He told the crowd that people who rode the PDP train in Delta state to power and then left the party that formed them are simply showing how ungrateful they are. He also reminded them that being ungrateful is a sin in heaven and on earth. He claimed that the people who now act like lords of the manor in politics came into the PDP “with only singlets on their backs.” The PDP cleaned them up, dressed them, and showed them the way. They then showed the gathering that they were not grateful.
Ogidi, who said he started working as a teacher in Warri in 1973, stated that some people were too greedy to see the truth. He reported that his first pay was N36. But some people are stealing billions of dollars now and they are still not happy. They keep taking things.
But one thing our parents instructed us is to keep our family name clean. My father said, “No spoil my name ooo” (don’t spoil my name ooo). He remarked, “The family name is very important, and PDP is the only party in Nigeria that hasn’t changed its name.” The logo hasn’t changed. The PDP is still focused on people, and its ideas haven’t changed.
He added in pidgin English that “na only those who no understand, na them dey take such steps” (it is only those who don’t understand that take such steps). He remarked that those who understand know that life needs patience, sacrifice, and the like, so they shouldn’t be in a hurry to burn down the house where they grew up. He said, “When they leave, ask them why they are leaving.” It’s not for any good reason. But there is one thing that God does not enjoy. It is ingratitude.
He claimed that a lot of the ungrateful people who left the PDP only had bikes at the time. A lot of them were nobody when they got here. The PDP turned them into what they are. But where are they?
today?
He told the crowd to stay on the right path because the PDP will win in 2027, and they cheered him on. He remarked, “Those who left the PDP and thought they were going up, they will meet us here when they come down.”
Chief Ejiofor Onyia, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, was even more harsh than Ogidi in condemning those who left. He stated that they betrayed the party because the PDP “took care of them, supported them, and did everything for them, but they left us. The PDP has been the most important party in this state since 1999. We had fought off every opposition until it stopped. We beat them. Then, out of nowhere, the individuals you put in charge left you. But I’m staring at this big crowd here. It proves that you all are honest. I didn’t think there would be this many people. It makes me think of the past. PDP was so powerful that it never lost an election in Delta state. We backed whoever was nominated, and we won. But then we were left out in the cold. People who have principles and beliefs don’t switch parties all the time. “Unless you’re a political whore, you don’t just jump around.”
After him, Dr. Esther Uduehi, his BOT coworker, took the stage and got the crowd even more excited. She also brought the people down memory lane. She thanked the audience and told them to spread the word that the PDP is still alive and will stay alive in every corner of the state. She made fun of people who had been “boasting about 2027” and told them to remember that certain people had earlier said that no one could stop Abacha but God intervened.
Former Delta State Commissioner Chief Clement Ofuani also gave a speech that got a lot of applause and made the place come alive. He noted that the future looks bright for the PDP as it works to reclaim its solid grasp on Delta politics.
Prof. Sylvester Monye, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, spoke for the members of the committee. He said that his job is clear: to steer the PDP ship in the state with real internal democracy so that the PDP can regain its former strength as the true people’s party, strong and vibrant, where democracy rules and favoritism and “bigmanism” have no place.
He claimed he would be in charge of the ship for three months, following which there would be a free and fair election for all party positions. He stated he would give the party back to the people because people will support a party with all their vigor if they know they own it. He added that while he was in charge, no one would tell the people what to do and no candidates would be forced on them. Instead, the will of the majority would always resolve matters and who gets to hold what post. He promised that with this as the party’s new base, “victory will be PDP’s in 2027 because PDP is in Delta state DNA and Delta state is a PDP state.”
Many PDP state chairmen, like Mr. Chidi Chidebe from Anambra, who is also the head of the Forum of all PDP state chairmen, and Barr. Igwat Imoren, Ebonyi’s Hon. Onyi Peter Nwele, sent Delta PDP greetings of goodwill. Elder Ogidi, who stood in for the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), swore in the Caretaker Committee members. They were: Prof. Sylvester Monye as Chairman, Ujor Ucheonny as Member, Comdr. Johnbull Aghogho Kenairu, Jackson Agbor, Onajega Mike, Chief Ekiyor Charles, Hon. Mrs. Vero Egbuna, Chukwunonso Alex Ndah, and Walter Uguoye.
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