By Ken Ugbechie
Again, he will be king. Sheriff Oborevwori, the governor of Delta state, is well primed to breast the tape in the 2027 governorship election. No disrespect to other contestants. But there is a difference between substance and shadow.
Oborevwori is the substance. A proven transformational leader. Not one learning the ropes. There are some governors running for re-election and a few candidates seeking a fresh start in the 2027 guber race whose victory is as sure as day. Oborevwori belongs here. Not by political sleight of hand but by merit. Indeed, he’s top of the class. The dashboard says so.
Barely three months and two weeks to the election, Delta electorate and residents are in consensus. It’s nobody but Sheriff. A relatable and humble governor the people love to address by his first name.
During a recent visit to Warri and later Agbor and Asaba, three of the major cities in the ethnically variegated state, it was obvious that Oborevwori does not have to exert energy or resort to soapbox sophistry to win the people.
They simply point to the totems of development which he wrought across the state. Oborevwori has proven a master of inclusivity. All the 25 local governments in the state have reasons to cast the next vote for him.
Governance in any emerging market ought not to be complicated. At the centre and at the sub-nationals, building infrastructure, investing in qualitative education and widening the net of healthcare are top priorities. That is the path trodden by Asian leaders. It is the path that founding fathers of the global north created.
The wisdom is to get a majority of the populace reasonably educated, equipped with requisite skills, and covered under a robust and affordable healthcare system. Such development-oriented leadership is what transformed south east Asian nations. It transformed provincial nationalities and their sub-nationals to productive economies.
Oborevwori did not mince words at his inauguration on May 29, 2023. He served notice to transform Warri-Sapele corridor. He gave strong hints to restore the old glory of the state in academic excellence, sporting superiority and technical education that used to define the old Bendel state from where Delta state was excised.
And he’s doing just that with evidential trophies to justify his efforts. The exploits of Delta students in the 2026 Spelling Bee World Cup in Shanghai, China where Delta’s Chinedu Great Okedinachi won a gold medal in the middle school category and at the 2025 World Basic School Debate Championship in Qatar where a five-member Team Delta won the coveted prize remain enduring priceless touchstones.
A typical Deltan is fastidiously republican. Independent-minded and driven by self-conviction. On a particular issue, Deltans will hold divergent views propelled by their respective personal convictions. So, when you see the same Deltans agreeing on an issue, then that must be a special matter.
This is what makes Oborevwori special. He stands out for his simplicity and unrelenting inclination to the development of Delta. Oborevwori is building a new Delta propped on the ramparts of his MORE agenda. His peerless propensity to public welfare sometimes at great personal sacrifice earned him the moniker Ukodo, a traditional title given to him by Orhorho I, the Orodje of Okpe.
A symbolism for his contribution to the development of Okpe Kingdom, his birthplace. But Ukodo has a deeper meaning steeped in culinary historicity of Okpe and the broader Urhobo culture. Ukodo is a scrumptious meal of sauce, yam and plantain sufficiently garnished with meat usually eaten as a communal meal shared among kindred, friends or persons of a common filial bond as a show of shared love, bliss and unity of purpose.
That is the name that echoes everywhere in Delta each time Oborevwori hits a neighbourhood. Ukodo is a badge on a person who manifests communal good and welfare. Oborevwori does just that. His approach to development recognises Delta as a multi-city state with dozens of dialectical differences.
From road infrastructure including bridges and flyovers to comprehensive healthcare, education especially technical education, and investments in human capital, Oborevwori is quietly engineering a modern Delta which prioritises public good over personal or cartel aggrandisement. He believes that educating a people is the most critical catalyst for their liberation and advancement.
But unlike the norm in some states where education is treated as merely building schools and leaving them in hands of ill-trained teachers, Oborevwori models a different concept. He believes in education that connects town and gown; that focuses on knowledge application to engender productivity and innovation.
Indeed, he believes in education that creates wealth, build ecosystems of growth, that scales ideas and research to products. No state matches Delta in technical and vocational education and graduates of such schools across the state are already creating and co-creating products for the local market and for export.
A healthy state is a wealthy state. This philosophy propels his government to invest more in healthcare evidenced by the acquisition of light-years-ahead medical equipment for public hospitals in the state. To match the sophistication of the medical equipment, he has ensured that doctors and other medical personnel are properly upskilled.
From primary health centres through to tertiary, there is a steady progression in quality of service, accessibility, affordability and availability. This has further endeared the people to their governor, a man that could walk the streets in any part of the state without fear of being booed or harangued.
A colleague had asked why Delta state ranks high among debt-burdened states. Latest statistics from the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) place Lagos State as highest debtor with over ₦1.22 trillion in domestic debt and about $1.17 billion in external debt; Rivers State ranks second with a domestic debt hovering between ₦364 billion and ₦378 billion; Delta coming third with domestic debt of ₦248 billion; while Ogun places fourth with about ₦227 billion.
For Delta, the debt burden could have been worse. Oborevwori inherited a heavy debt stock. Quietly, he has reduced the debt to the current profile, paying out over ₦265 billion without taking any loan. If you factor the humungous infrastructure makeover and heavy investments in other critical sectors especially education and health under his leadership, you will see a prudent governor conscious of his place in history.
Th recent economic summit which brought together investors and policy makers is a prelude to the long-expected industrialisation of the state. The people are upbeat that Oborevwori will take Delta to a higher plateau of development hence they are self-mobilising to keep him in government house for a second term. His re-election is as certain as yesterday.