While directing SOTELCO, Oba devoted considerable time and money to sports as well as involvement in politics. He founded a political party, the MSD, which was part of the Presidential Majority and loyal to President Sassou Nguesso; In an interview, Oba stressed the need for "a new discourse that focuses on the real problems of the Congolese people". In the
June 2007 parliamentary election, Oba's new party performed fairly well, winning five seats in the National Assembly. Oba stood as the MSD candidate in the fifth constituency of
Talangaï, a district of
Brazzaville. In the first round of voting, he received 47.07% of the vote against 38.31% for
André Mbola, the candidate of the
Congolese Labour Party (PCT). Because Oba fell short of an outright majority, he faced Mbola in a second round of voting. Oba narrowly defeated Mbola to win the seat in the August 2007 second round, receiving 51.06% of the vote. Although Oba's political party had performed well in the 2007 election and he had lavished praise on Sassou Nguesso, he was not rewarded with a post in the government, and the MSD did not even receive a post in the Bureau of the National Assembly. Meanwhile, SOTELCO's financial situation was continuing to deteriorate. By October 2007, the company could no longer pay its employees and was embroiled in a dispute with trade unions. On 5 February 2008, he announced plans for a rally in Brazzaville on 16 February to express support for Sassou Nguesso's new social policies and "ensure their implementation", and also to launch the MSD's women's organization, Sisters of Denis Sassou Nguesso. On the same occasion, he affirmed that the MSD would present its own candidate lists in the
2008 local elections, separate from the RMP's joint candidate lists. Speaking to his constituents on 27 February 2008, Oba discussed plans to create a Deputy's House in the constituency to facilitate the implementation of campaign promises and receive ideas and views from the people. He stressed, in response to constituent concerns, that the five-year parliamentary term was only just beginning and that all of his promises would be fulfilled, noting that he had already provided an ambulance, which would be kept at the Deputy's House. In early 2008, SOTELCO was suffering some serious problems; months of wages had gone unpaid and the company was not performing competitively. Oba's dismissal occurred soon after his refusal to participate in the RMP, leading to speculation that he was dismissed as a retaliatory move. In a March 2008 interview with
Jeune Afrique, Sassou Nguesso said that there was no relationship between the two events and noted that he had still had Oba's support, despite the latter's unwillingness to participate in the new grouping. Sassou Nguesso was terse on the matter and gave no specific explanation: "His term expired; I decided not to renew it. That's it." After his sacking, Oba remained loyal to Sassou Nguesso and allied to the constellation of parties supporting Sassou Nguesso. He was the Honorary President of the Women of the Presidential Majority (FMP) in late 2008, when that group was organizing and mobilizing in preparation for Sassou Nguesso's presumed candidacy in the
July 2009 presidential election. He was also the Honorary President of the Youth of the Presidential Majority (JMP) in late 2008. Some JMP leaders criticized Oba at that time, and in turn the MSD Political Commission, defending Oba, denounced those JMP leaders; the MSD stressed the importance of unity and cooperation in support of Sassou Nguesso's upcoming re-election campaign. Speaking to university students in Brazzaville on 21 June 2009, Oba called on the students to work for Sassou Nguesso's re-election and do their part to ensure a strong voter turnout. On behalf of the MSD, he signed an agreement on supporting Sassou Nguesso's candidacy with the PCT and the
Club 2002 - PUR on 25 June 2009. Oba was reportedly involved in a conflict with Akouala, who had succeeded him at SOTELCO (since rebranded as
Congo Télécom), by late 2009. On 3 October 2010, Oba visited his constituents to discuss parliamentary work. Explaining a bill regarding an agreement with the
International Development Association, he assured his constituents that the government was working "in the framework of multilateral cooperation in order to gradually solve the vital problems of the people". He also expressed support for an initiative to add two new police stations in the constituency. Oba's constituents expressed their complaints about local problems and also complained that Oba did not visit his constituents to discuss parliamentary work often enough. Prior to the PCT's Sixth Extraordinary Congress in July 2011, the party made a gesture of opening itself to other parties, leading some smaller parties of the Presidential Majority to merge themselves into the PCT. Speaking in an interview in late June 2011, Oba said that he did not reject in principle the notion of creating a broad political party that would support Sassou Nguesso, but he insisted that if it was done it should be done in a consensual way. He stressed that the MSD retained its independence. In the
July–August 2012 parliamentary election, the MSD failed to win any seats. Sassou Nguesso's daughter,
Claudia Lembouma Sassou Nguesso, won the seat for the fifth constituency of Talangaï, previously held by Oba. After a difficult period in which the MSD lost many members, the party held its first extraordinary congress on 7 June 2014. According to Oba, the purpose of the congress was to highlight the party's survival. ==References==