By Ufuoma Egbe
The battle over who flies the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag for Delta Central Senatorial District in 2027 is far bigger than the ambition of any individual politician. It is not merely about whether Senator Ede Dafinone returns to the Senate or whether former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege stages a comeback. At its core, this contest is about the honour, political maturity, and collective dignity of the Urhobo Nation.
For too long, the political destiny of many ethnic nationalities in Nigeria has been determined by outside interests and distant power blocs with little emotional or cultural attachment to the people. But the Urhobo Nation, as one of the largest and most politically conscious ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, has come of age. The era when decisions concerning Urhobo representation could be dictated from outside Urhobo land should be over.
The question before APC leaders and stakeholders in Delta Central today is simple: should the Urhobo people freely choose who represents them, or should external forces impose a candidate on them through Abuja influence and political intimidation?
This is the defining issue of the 2027 Delta Central senatorial race.
Senator Ede Dafinone’s aspiration is fundamentally rooted in engagement with party leaders, ward executives, local government structures, stakeholders, and the generality of APC members across Delta Central. His political growth depends on the goodwill of the people. He understands that the mandate to represent Delta Central can only derive legitimacy from the consent and support of Urhobo leaders and party faithful.
On the other hand, the body language and political calculations surrounding the former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, suggest a different approach entirely — one built less on persuasion within Delta Central leaders and stakeholders, and more on reliance on Abuja connections and outside political forces to secure the APC ticket.
That is where the real danger lies.
When a politician begins a race without faith in the judgment of his own people, without confidence in the decision-making ability of party leaders at the ward, local government, and state levels, and instead turns to external powers for imposition, it sends a troubling message. It suggests that the voices of APC stakeholders in Delta Central do not matter. It implies that Urhobo leaders lack the wisdom and political capacity to make informed decisions for themselves.
Nothing can be more insulting to a politically sophisticated people.
The troubling question, therefore, is this: when the time comes for the general election in 2027, will those Abuja political forces come to Delta Central to cast the votes? Will they mobilise the grassroots? Will they defend the party in the polling units? Or will it still be the Urhobo people whose votes ultimately determine victory or defeat?
If the votes of the Urhobo people will matter during the election, then their voices must matter during the process of choosing the candidate.
The Urhobo Nation is not a political toddler that must have representatives selected and imposed on it by outsiders. The days when political godfathers outside Delta Central could chew the meat and force-feed Urhobo people what to swallow should be over. Urhobo leaders, APC stakeholders, and party faithful possess the experience, political exposure, and democratic understanding to choose those who can best represent their interests at the National Assembly.
That is why the 2027 contest has become a referendum on Urhobo pride and political independence.
This is not simply about personalities. It is about preserving party supremacy and respecting the structures of the APC in Delta Central. A politician who openly disregards ward leaders, local government executives, party elders, and stakeholders, yet seeks to return to office through external influence, cannot genuinely claim loyalty to party supremacy.
Political parties survive on structures, consultation, and respect for internal democracy. Once candidates begin to emerge through imposition rather than consensus or transparent primaries, the party structure gradually collapses into irrelevance. Leaders become ceremonial figures. Party members become disillusioned. The grassroots lose faith in the system.
That is the danger APC leaders in Delta Central must avoid.
The reality today is that APC in Delta State is trying to rebuild itself into a stronger and more united political platform under the leadership of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. This rebuilding process requires stability, consultation, and respect for party structures. Any attempt to bulldoze the wishes of party stakeholders through external imposition risks deepening divisions within the party and weakening the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Urhobo political leaders must therefore see this moment for what it truly represents — a defining test of political courage and collective self-respect.
If APC leaders in Delta Central surrender the power to choose their candidate to outside forces, they would effectively be signing away their own relevance within the party. They would be admitting that the structures they built over the years no longer matter. And once that precedent is established, it will become increasingly difficult for grassroots leaders to command respect within the party again.
The choice before Delta Central APC stakeholders is therefore clear.
They can either defend internal democracy, party supremacy, and the dignity of the Urhobo Nation by allowing party members and leaders to freely determine their candidate, or they can allow external political interests to override the wishes of the people.
History will remember whichever path they choose.
This is why many APC faithful now view support for Senator Ede Dafinone not merely as support for an individual aspiration, but as a symbolic stand for Urhobo honour, party supremacy, and democratic inclusion within the APC.
The larger message is simple: Urhobo people are capable of deciding their own political future. They do not need outsiders to impose leaders on them. They do not need political intimidation or Abuja manipulation to determine who speaks for them in the Senate.
The Urhobo Nation has come of age.
And in 2027, APC leaders and stakeholders in Delta Central must rise to defend that honour with courage, unity, and conviction.
So, the Delta Central 2027 election is about an Urhobo honour, but about the Delta APC future.
Ufuoma Egbe, a Delta APC Stakeholder, writes from Eku, Delta State
