The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been dragged into a fresh legal battle following the defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A member of the PDP in Delta State has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare the governor’s defection unconstitutional while he remains in office.
The suit was filed by Alex Akporute, a PDP member from Ward 3/7 in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
He approached the court through an originating summons, challenging the legality of Oborevwori’s move from the PDP to the APC.
In the suit, Governor Oborevwori is listed as the 1st defendant.
Other defendants include the PDP, the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Attorney-General of Delta State.
The case, marked Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/2601/2025, was filed on December 3, 2025.
Court documents show that all parties were served with hearing notices on December 17, 2025.
The matter has now been assigned to Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
The plaintiff is asking the court to determine four major constitutional issues.
Central to the case is whether a sitting governor can defect to another political party and still retain the electoral mandate won on the platform of his former party.
Akporute argues that while the Constitution guarantees freedom of association, that right does not extend to transferring an electoral mandate from one political party to another.
He insists that the mandate belongs to the PDP, under which Oborevwori contested and won the governorship election.
The plaintiff also questions whether the governor’s defection undermines the will of the electorate who voted for the PDP in Delta State.
According to him, allowing such a defection without consequences weakens democratic principles and the supremacy of the people’s votes.
In his claims, Akporute maintains that Oborevwori’s continued stay in office while aligning with the APC breaches several provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
He insists that the governor cannot lawfully promote or implement APC policies, having not been elected on that platform.
Among the reliefs sought is a declaration that the governor’s constitutional rights cannot be exercised in a way that conflicts with the electoral mandate given to the PDP by voters in Delta State.
The plaintiff also wants the court to declare that any executive action taken by Oborevwori on the platform of the APC is unconstitutional and legally invalid.
The suit further seeks an order restraining the APC from presenting itself as the ruling party in Delta State while Oborevwori remains in office as governor.
Akporute is also asking the court to nullify Oborevwori’s membership of the APC, on the grounds that his defection violates both the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
In a key argument, the plaintiff contends that Section 40 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association, can only apply to Oborevwori after he resigns as governor or after his tenure ends on May 29, 2027.
However, the case is different from previous suits against defecting governors.
Unlike earlier cases where plaintiffs asked the court to compel governors to vacate office, this suit focuses on restricting the political and executive consequences of defection while in office.
The legal action comes at a time when Governor Oborevwori has been openly participating in APC activities, including attendance at high-level party meetings.
