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There is a moment in the political life of a leader when they must choose: serve the people who elected them, or serve the master who funds them. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State just made his choice and it is not Deltans.

In what may go down as one of the most politically deaf and morally bankrupt statements by a sitting Nigerian governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori went on Arise Television to announce that President Bola Tinubu’s re-election is his “number one project” ; a project, he emphasized, “bigger than any other project.”

Let that sink in. Not the security of Deltans. Not the welfare of families who cannot afford a meal. Not even his own re-election. No! Tinubu’s return to Aso Rock is what keeps the governor of Delta State awake at night. Deltans are not just disappointed. They are disgusted. And they should be.

The Confession That Exposed Everything

Governor Oborevwori was uncharacteristically candid. He declared that securing a second term for President Tinubu in 2027 is his personal political mission. He went further to argue that Tinubu is an “in-law” to Delta State, referencing the President’s marriage to Oluremi Tinubu, who is of Itsekiri heritage and that any Deltan who votes against his “in-law” must be “evil.”

“Among the candidates that have emerged, he (Tinubu) is the only one that has affiliation to Delta State. Because Deltans are wise now. The man is an in-law here. So, you need to be evil to vote against your in-law. So, it’s a family affair,” the governor said.

A family affair? Tell that to the family of the three-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Delta State by her trusted commercial motorcyclist; the same man her family paid to take her to school daily. That suspect demanded ₦500,000 ransom. The family paid. The child was rescued, but only after the money changed hands. Is that the “family affair” Governor Oborevwori is talking about?

The Economic Nightmare: Tinubu’s “Reforms” Are Killing Nigerians

Oborevwori’s argument for supporting Tinubu is strictly transactional: he claims the President’s economic reforms have brought more money to Delta State. He boasts that contractors are now paid 40% mobilization fees and that the state no longer waits for federal allocation before settling bills. But the governor conveniently forgets to mention where that money is coming from, or who is paying the price.

President Tinubu himself admitted during his third-anniversary address that his administration’s subsidy removal cost Nigerians dearly. Before the reform, the country was spending a staggering N18.4 billion daily on petrol subsidies. Tinubu said the situation “demanded urgent and courageous action,” but he also acknowledged that the reforms led to a sharp rise in the cost of living, placing “pressure on households and businesses.”

That is political speak for: Nigerians are suffering.

Today, Nigeria has been labeled the poverty capital of the world. Families are choosing between food and school fees. Small businesses have collapsed. The naira’s instability has wiped out savings. Farmers cannot afford fertilizer. And yet, Governor Oborevwori wants Deltans to vote for more of this because his contractors are getting paid on time?

The governor’s logic is as callous as it is self-serving. He is essentially saying: “The reforms are working in Delta State because I have money to build roads. Never mind that your children are hungry.” This is not leadership. This is rent-seeking masquerading as governance.

Insecurity: The Moving Southward Terror That Oborevwori Ignores

While Governor Oborevwori is busy plotting Tinubu’s re-election, terrorists and kidnappers are relocating southward and they have already arrived in the South-West.

From Kogi and Kwara, terrorist networks have penetrated Oyo State. The same trajectory points directly at Delta. The question every Deltan should be asking is: What has Oborevwori done to stop them? The answer is embarrassingly thin.

To his credit, the governor has issued directives. In January 2026, he charged the new Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Aina Adesola, to “intensify the fight against criminals and illegal firearms.” He boasted that since 2023, the open display of firearms by youths has stopped, and he assured that “it will never happen again in Delta State.” But reassuring statements do not rescue kidnapped children. And directives do not stop bullets.

In January 2026, police in Delta recovered an FNC rifle and a pump-action shotgun with 32 live cartridges from suspected kidnappers in Upper Agbarho, Ughelli North. The suspects engaged officers in a gun battle and escaped. In May 2026, a three-year-old was abducted and ransom was paid before police rescued her. These are not isolated incidents. They are evidence of a criminal ecosystem that has not been dismantled, only occasionally disrupted.

President Tinubu himself declared a national emergency on insecurity and poverty in April 2026, acknowledging that “decent work cannot thrive in an environment plagued by fear.” If the President admits there is a crisis, why is Governor Oborevwori telling Deltans that everything is fine and that Tinubu deserves a second term?

The governor cannot have it both ways. Either there is a security crisis, in which case, voting for the man who presided over it is madness, or there is no crisis, and Tinubu’s emergency declaration was political theater. Which is it, Governor?

The Moral Bankruptcy of “My Number One Project”

Let us be clear about what Oborevwori actually said. He did not say Tinubu’s re-election is one of his priorities. He said it is bigger than any other project, including, by implication, the welfare of Deltans and even his own re-election.

What the governor has explicitly stated is: “So on the issue of the contest, governorship is not an issue. It’s not an issue. We talk about how to deliver Mr. President, my president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which is my number one project.”

This is a man who is willing to sacrifice his own political future on the altar of Tinubu’s second term. And he expects Deltans to follow him over that cliff.

The moral implication is staggering. How can a governor, sworn to protect the lives and property of his people, openly subordinate their interests to the political ambitions of a President whose policies have pushed Nigerians below the poverty line? How can he ask farmers who cannot go to their farms for fear of kidnapping to vote for more of the same? He cannot. Not honestly.

The Verdict: A Request Dead on Arrival

If Governor Oborevwori believes Deltans will embrace Tinubu’s re-election because he asks them to, he has misjudged the mood of his people.

Deltans are not fools. They feel the fuel hike challenge that has made transportation costly. The Governor does not see the need to prioritize subsidizing transportation cost for Deltans, who also feel the high cost of food prices. They know families who have paid ransom. They have watched their savings evaporate. And they remember that in 2023, Delta State did not vote for Tinubu, it voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

Oborevwori claims that the “Christian community and the Igbo” who voted for Obi in 2023 have been “managed” and will not repeat that pattern. That is not political analysis. That is arrogance. You do not “manage” voters into abandoning their convictions. You earn their trust. And trust is not built by telling people that voting against their in-law is evil.

The governor’s request for Deltans to vote for Tinubu is dead on arrival because it asks people to vote for their continued suffering. No amount of 40% contractor mobilization fees will change the reality of a mother who cannot afford Panadol for her sick child.

Conclusion: A Governor Lost in the Sauce

Sheriff Oborevwori has revealed his true priority. It is not Delta State. It is not security. It is not the welfare of his people. It is Bola Tinubu’s political survival. Deltans should take note. When a governor tells you that your suffering is less important than his “project,” believe him. When he begs you to vote for a President whose policies have turned Nigeria into the poverty capital of the world, reject him. And when he tells you that his own re-election is “not an issue,” take him at his word, and vote accordingly. The people of Delta State deserve a governor who puts them first. Not a political errand boy for a President who cannot keep the nation safe or the economy stable.

Tinubu’s re-election is not Sheriff Oborevwori’s number one project. Deltans are. Or at least, they should be. It is a shame the governor has forgotten that.