Sherrif Oberevwori is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Delta state, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The judgment has ruled out his rival David Edevbie from contesting the 2023 governorship under the PDP flag, and a devastating blow to his political godfather, James Ibori, a former governor of the state who is in a tussle with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over the control of the soul of the party in the state.
Okowa, the PDP vice presidential candidate for next year’s election is the prime backer of Oberevwori, who is the current Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.
Delivering judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Amina Augie, upheld the decision of the Abuja court of appeal which had earlier declared the Speaker as the authentic governorship candidate of the party in the oil-producing state.
Recall that during the PDP primary in May, Oborevwori polled 590 votes to beat David Edevbie, the commissioner for finance during the James Ibori administration, who polled 113 votes.
Meanwhile, the magazine learned that jubilation broke out from the Governor Okowa camp of the PDP in the state as soon as the apex court delivered the judgment.
“We can now concentrate on working to ensure that the Atiku/ Okowa ticket wins the presidential election next year, as the major distraction has already been settled by the highest court in the land,” an associate of the governor said on Friday.
