Senator Representing Delta Central, Senator Ede Dafinone has urged APC leaders, stakeholders and members in Udu and Ughelli South Local Government Areas of Delta State to remain committed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that the difficult economic reforms being implemented by the Federal Government are necessary to rebuild the country and lay the foundation for sustainable development.
Dafinone made the appeal during his consultation visits to the two local government areas, where he engaged party leaders and members on the need for greater mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the present administration inherited a country facing serious economic challenges and deliberately chose reforms that may be painful in the short term but are intended to strengthen Nigeria in the long run.
He said Nigerians should assess the President not by his popularity but by the quality and sustainability of the decisions being taken to reposition the country. According to him, “Being President of Nigeria no be beauty contest. The work of your President is not to shine teeth, wear fine clothes, travel round. The work of your President is to make your country better, make your own life better. That’s what the President is doing.”
The Delta Central Senator explained that some of the reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, including changes to fuel subsidy, electricity subsidy, foreign-exchange policy and taxation, could have been avoided if the President’s priority were simply to remain popular. He argued that Tinubu instead chose to confront structural problems that had accumulated over the years, despite the political risks associated with such decisions.
Dafinone also appealed to Nigerians to maintain faith in the President’s long-term vision, saying the disruptions caused by global developments, including the war in Iran, had affected the reform agenda. He said Tinubu remained focused on the legacy he wanted to leave behind. “Our President has his eye on the legacy he wants to leave. He wants to be able to tell Nigerians that he fixed the country; he made the country better for Nigerians,” he stated.
The Senator further linked Tinubu’s economic vision to Nigeria’s lost position among countries that were at a comparable level of development in the 1960s, citing Malaysia and Indonesia as examples. He said Nigeria possessed the human resources and entrepreneurial capacity to regain lost ground, stressing that the greatest resource available to the country was its people. “The truth, the secret of Nigeria is Nigerians. Nigerians are the most intelligent people in Africa by far,” he said.
Dafinone also addressed concerns that religious considerations influenced voting patterns against the APC and Tinubu in Delta State during the 2023 presidential election. He said some Christian voters had been influenced by fears that a Muslim presidency would lead to the Islamisation of Nigeria, but argued that developments under Tinubu had not supported such fears. He urged Delta voters to reassess the administration on the basis of its performance and policies rather than religious sentiments.
Turning to the relationship between the Federal Government and Delta State, Dafinone said the emergence of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the APC at both the state and federal levels had created an opportunity for closer collaboration and greater access to federal support. He pointed to the relationship between Tinubu and Oborevwori, saying their interactions demonstrated a level of understanding capable of producing greater dividends for Delta.
According to Dafinone, “Our Governor has a direct line to the President. We senators get direct line to the President. It will allow us to bring back many, many dividends.” He urged APC members in Udu and Ughelli South to translate the alignment between the state and federal governments into electoral strength by delivering strong results for Tinubu, Oborevwori and other APC candidates.
The Senator consequently charged party members to take ownership of the party at the grassroots, stressing that electoral victory begins at the polling unit. He commended the restructuring of the APC following the recent congresses, which he said had given ward and local government leaders greater responsibility for organising and delivering their respective units. “All politics is local,” Dafinone declared, urging party leaders to return to their wards, mobilise their members and ensure that every unit contributes to the party’s victory in 2027.
Dafinone said the objective should be a comprehensive victory for the APC, rather than the practice of individual party members pursuing separate interests during elections. He warned that internal division could undermine the party’s chances and urged leaders to work collectively to deliver maximum votes. “We must deliver all candidates, every candidate of the party, five over five,” he said, while calling on APC members in Udu and Ughelli South to unite behind Tinubu, Oborevwori and the party’s candidates as the party prepares for the 2027 elections.
Also speaking, the member representing the Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, called on the people of Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Local Government Areas to come out en masse and vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and all APC candidates in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
Waive cited the siting of the Federal Medical Centre in the constituency, which he said had created more than 800 jobs for indigenous residents of the area. He noted that the best way for the people to reward those who had provided employment opportunities for their children was to support the APC at the polls and deliver a “five-over-five” victory for the party.
In particular, he noted that President Tinubu had demonstrated that he was a friend of the Urhobo people and maintained a very cordial working relationship with Governor Oborevwori. According to him, the partnership between the Federal Government and the Delta State Government would position the Urhobo Nation, particularly Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu, to benefit significantly from the emerging development opportunities.
Other leaders who spoke at the consultation included the Delta Central APC Chairman, Chief Paulinus Akpeki; Chief John Oguma; Chief S. K. Panse; Chief Odebo; and other prominent APC leaders from the two local government areas.
The two local government chairmen and other party leaders also expressed their readiness to mobilise their respective wards and communities for the total victory of the APC in the 2027 general elections.
