By Emmanuel Ogoigbe,Warri
Prof. Patrick Muoboghare has formally declared his intention to contest for the Senate following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing the collapse of internal cohesion and direction within his former party. Speaking with unmistakable candour, the academic turned politician described the PDP as “no longer alive,” likening it to a shipwreck from which survival demanded urgent departure.
Explaining his decision, Prof. Muoboghare said he could not continue to advance his political career on what he termed a “sinking ship.” He noted that politics, like navigation, requires foresight and realism. “I cannot fly my political career with a sinking ship,” he declared, adding that prudence compelled him to seek a viable platform capable of delivering meaningful representation to his people.
The professor revealed that his decision to seek a Senate seat was informed by opportunity and necessity. According to him, the presidency, governorship, and state assembly positions were not vacant, leaving the Senate as the most realistic and strategic option. “I will try the one that is vacant, which is the Senate,” he said, stressing that the upper chamber offers the appropriate forum to address pressing national and regional concerns.
Central to his senatorial ambition, Prof. Muoboghare said, is his resolve to contribute robustly to debates on national security, particularly the herdsmen crisis, and to defend the interests of the Okuama community whenever such matters are raised on the floor of the National Assembly.
He reassured his people not to be afraid, affirming that he possesses the financial capacity and political will to prosecute a credible senatorial campaign.
His defection was warmly received by the APC leadership, as the party’s State Chairman, Chief Sobotie, alongside the Uwheru APC leader, Chief Simeon Owhofa, formally welcomed him into the APC family amongst many others.
The leaders described the move as a strategic boost that would significantly strengthen the party’s electoral prospects in Uwheru and beyond.
Chief Owhofa, visibly elated, thanked Prof. Muoboghare for joining forces with the APC, declaring that the party would now win convincingly in Uwheru Kingdom. He asserted that the unity forged by the defection marked a clear pathway to development, insisting that the APC now faces little or no opposition in the area.
Expressing confidence in the party’s fortunes, Owhofa stated that this development would mark the first time in Ughelli North’s political history that the APC would record a resounding victory.
He emphasised that Uwheru votes were not negotiable, projecting a landslide win for the ruling party in forthcoming elections.
Reiterating his criticism of the PDP, Prof. Muoboghare returned to his maritime metaphor, describing his former party not merely as a burning house but as a vessel already sunk beneath the waves.
He argued that it would be folly to dive into the depths in a bid to salvage what had been deliberately wrecked. In his words, the destruction of the party’s internal structures had been systematic, leaving him no option but to chart a new course with the APC, where, he said, purpose, unity, and political life still endure.
