The Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Democratic Party (CP-PDP) has alleged that Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, was blackmailed into joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Governor Oborevwori, alongside his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Monday publicly defected to the APC.

In a statement by its Protem Chairman, Obinna Nwachukwu, the CP-PDP claimed that joining the ruling party was a condition imposed to end the “unwarranted harassment” of former Governor Okowa by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“It is also alleged that the APC leaders have upscaled their demands to include the surrender of significant control of Delta State oil wells to an APC cabal in Abuja,” the group stated.

The CP-PDP further alleged that Governor Oborevwori was directed to restructure his government and cede sensitive positions to be filled by core APC loyalists.

“This is in addition to the alleged insistence by the APC cabal to take full control of the state through what they call the ‘Lagos Option’, where defectors are not guaranteed party tickets in the 2027 general elections,” the statement said.

Describing the development as an “undemocratic annexation script,” the group noted that what began in Rivers State has now been extended to Delta State as part of APC’s scheme to “capture” the Niger Delta and exploit its resources to the detriment of the region and the country at large.

The group accused the APC of avoiding free, fair, and transparent elections ahead of 2027 and using underhanded tactics to divert attention from its “misrule and abysmal failures” over the past two years.

It warned that the ruling party is weakening the country’s democracy by decimating the opposition and stifling dissent in a bid to create a one-party state.

“The Conference cautions that such approaches by the APC are capable of derailing Nigeria’s democracy, undermining justice, freedom, accountability, and the rule of law,” it warned.

The CP-PDP called on all patriotic Nigerians to resist “these anti-democratic tactics and strategies of the APC, now manifesting in Delta State.”