By Akpos Oghenetega,
The Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed as “misleading, sensational and politically motivated” a report by SaharaReporters alleging a deepening crisis within the party, insisting that its recently concluded congresses were historic, peaceful and devoid of factionalism.
In a strongly worded statement issued on March 4, 2026, and signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Valentine Onojeghuo, Esq., the party said it “unequivocally condemns and rejects the misleading, sensational and politically motivated report… alleging a ‘deepening crisis’ within our great party.” The APC stated that it would ordinarily have ignored the publication but chose to respond “for the purpose of putting the record straight and for posterity.”
The party used the occasion to congratulate the newly elected State Chairman, Chief Solomon Arenyeka, and members of the State Executive Committee, describing their emergence as a product of unity and consensus. “We wish to heartily congratulate our newly elected State Chairman, Chief Solomon Arenyeka, and his entire State Executive Committee on their well-deserved emergence through a broad-based consensus process that reflects the collective will of party stakeholders across the State,” the statement read.
It added that the Ward, Local Government and State Congresses were “peacefully, transparently, and successfully conducted,” culminating in “the emergence of a formidable State Executive Committee under his chairmanship.”
Dismissing claims of internal division, the APC declared that “there was no parallel congress anywhere in Delta State — not in any of the 270 wards, nor the 25 Local Government Areas and certainly not at the State level.” According to the party, “For the first time in the political history of congresses in Delta APC, no individual has been paraded or returned as a factional chairman from any so-called parallel congress. That singular feat alone has completely demolished the contrived narrative of division being peddled by mischief-makers.”
The statement credited the success of the congresses to the leadership of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, describing the outcome as the result of deliberate and inclusive consultations. “The unprecedented success recorded is not accidental. It is the manifestation of a deliberate initiative under the courageous and inclusive leadership of His Excellency… Through extensive consultations with critical leaders and stakeholders… His Excellency adopted the constitutionally backed consensus-driven model that placed unity above personal ambition and collective victory above individual interest,” the party said.
Describing the development as “nothing short of a political miracle,” the APC said it had undergone “a strategic structural re-engineering,” integrating legacy members and new entrants with “political maturity, discipline and foresight.” It maintained that the outcome is “a solid, harmonized and battle-ready State Executive Committee capable of driving our party’s expansion and consolidating its dominance ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
The party further argued that equating absence from political events with crisis was “intellectually dishonest and journalistically irresponsible,” stressing that “attendance at political gatherings is not the sign of party unity. The measure of unity is institutional order, the absence of factional structures and the acceptance of outcomes, all of which were clearly demonstrated throughout the various congress stages.”
While accusing SaharaReporters of attempting to “manufacture friction where none exists,” the APC insisted it would not allow “speculative journalism to undermine the stability painstakingly built within our party.” It declared that Delta APC “is not in crisis. It is consolidated, disciplined and strategically repositioned.”
Reaffirming its political objectives, the party said it remains focused on “delivering decisive victories” at the Presidency, Governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly levels in 2027. “Delta APC stands united, re-engineered and unstoppable,” the statement concluded, urging members to “remain steadfast and ignore provocations” while calling on media organisations “to verify facts before amplifying politically motivated conjectures.”
