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By Ikechukwu Chukwudi-Abiandu (Team Ochei)

The approach of Rt. Hon. (Engr.) Victor O. Ochei Esq, FNSE, Senatorial candidate of the NDC for Delta North, to the 2027 elections is direct. It carries the precision of a military mindset that first understands the issues on the ground and then determines exactly what must be done; not merely to secure victory in the senatorial contest, but also to gather as many votes as possible for the party’s presidential and gubernatorial candidates, His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi and Deacon Chris Iyovwaye, so the impact is felt at the presidential and gubernatorial collation.

Rt. Hon. Ochei has led his team through rigorous travels, crisscrossing the length and breadth of Delta North, speaking with voters, interest groups, and canvassers, explaining positions and exposing failures where they exist. The method is consistent: arrive, listen at length, and respond with clarity.

In an engagement with the NDC Nsukwa Clan on Sunday, November 1, heralded by dancing and singing, chants and choruses similar to the triumphant entry of someone already known for bringing results, a spokesman thereafter, spoke for more than fifteen minutes, listing project after project the clan itself had undertaken. Most starkly, they described the absence of electricity for more than twenty years. What little civilisation remained was the product of their own effort rather than government intervention.

Ochei listened, then responded:

“It is very disappointing to see the level of abandonment expressed, and it is more saddening that we had a governor for 8 years, who was also a senator for 4 years, and has now come again, yet Nsukwa clan has not had power for more than 20 years. If he couldn’t do it when he was the governor, he can’t do it now.”

The statement referred to the tenure of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. The same leadership that could not deliver then could not be expected to deliver now. The time had therefore come for new possibilities.

Similar interactions defined meetings with landlords in Okpanam and Okwe, across Oshimili North and Oshimili South Local Government Areas. Ochei acknowledged their economic contributions and charged them not to grow weary in supporting Mr. Peter Obi. To them he said:

“I acknowledge the influence you all have because not only are you property owners, you contribute greatly towards the economy, expansion and development of various locations in the senatorial district. There is nothing wrong in expecting to benefit and enjoy the dividends of democracy where your investments are. Today, I ask that you trust me to speak for you all and other interests in the senatorial district. Give me your votes, and watch me help young people stand strong and ready to take over leadership in Delta North.”

Ochei’s readiness to issue such assessments is consistent with a path that has never depended on establishment endorsement, and the same disposition informs his current challenge to Okowa for open scrutiny of their respective records and a public debate on concrete plans for Delta North.

Across other stops the central thread remains the same. Communities describe long-standing deficits; Ochei responds by refusing to treat them as inevitable. Support for Mr. Peter Obi and all NDC candidates is integrated into these conversations, with the qualities of simplicity and integrity aligned to the demand for accountability communities themselves have voiced.

The time, Rt. Hon. Ochei maintains, has come for new possibilities to be built through careful listening, plain statement of the record, and a clear invitation to choose differently.

From the nooks to the crannies of Delta North, that invitation is already being accepted, and Ochei’s message now lives in the hearts of Anioma voters who only await 2027 to cast their votes for the NDC.