Rep Member, Oboro Fires Another Salvo At Sen.Omo-Agege, Alleged He Took N20M From FUPRE To Stage Manage Public Hearing

The member representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie/ Federal Constituency, Hon Evelyn Oboro has fired another salvo at Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, alleging that the latter collected the sum of N20million from the management of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun to stage manage a public hearing on the varsity bill recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Oboro who reacted to reports credited to Omo-Agege who lampooned Oboro for claiming “copyright” ownership of the Bill , insisted that the Bill was her handiwork.

She alleged that Omo-Agege arm-twisted management of the institution by collecting from them the sum of Twenty Million naira for the purpose of visiting the University, prior to the alleged stage manage public hearing he conducted at the red chambers to deceive some Urhobo people that he was actually the iniator of the said bill.

Giving a graphic details of her role in the passage of the bill which according to her, was introduced in 2014 during her first tenure, Oboro alleged that Omo-Agege has penchant for claiming credit to other people’s work.

A statement wired to BigPen Online on Tuesday by Oboro’s media aide, Comrade Harry Odefe read in part: “FUPRE Bill assented to by President Buhari emanated from the House of Representatives. It was sponsored in 2014 by Honourable Evelyn Oboro during her first tenure in the Green Chamber.

“The bill was passed by the House, sent to the Senate for concurrence and transmitted to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who could not assent to it before the end of his administration in 2015.

“In February, 2016, Honourable Evelyn Oboro re-introduced the bill and in less than three months, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate for concurrence.

“At this point, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was just a month old in the Green Chamber having arrived in January, 2016. FUPRE Bill, which President Buhari assented to, is a House or Member’s bill sponsored by Honourable Oboro and not an Executive bill from the executive arm of government, nor Senate Bill as erroneously presented by Omo-Agege”.

“It is a false presentation by Senate Omo-Agege of the FUPRE Bill gazetted 2016 SB 226 in his name, “Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege”

Below is full details of the statement:

EVELYN OBORO FURTHER EDUCATES OVIE OMO-AGEGE ON LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES

SAYS HER FUPRE BILL WAS SELF SPONSORED IN LINE WITH SECTION 58 OF THE CONSTITUTION

On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, that President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the bill establishing the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, FUPRE, Senator Omo-Agege hurried to the media particularly the social media to heap on himself the praise of sponsoring and getting the bill passed in the Senate chamber of the National Assembly. His e-rats were also not left out in the show of shame in the social media claiming that their messianic boss has the copyright to the FUPRE Bill.

Their hope to elicit public commendation for the obvious falsehood, was however dashed two days later, when our amiable and pragmatic member representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Evelyn Oboro,  during plenary of  Thursday, October 19, 2017, stood up under personal explanation, to express thanks to President Buhari for assenting to the bill, and the leadership as well as members of the Green Chamber for their contributions in ensuring that the FUPRE Bill, which she sponsored in 2014 and re-introduced in February, 2016, was passed. This was further followed by a THANK YOU VISIT, which was paid to Honourable Oboro at her Effurun residence on Saturday, October 21, 2017 by over fifty staff cutting across four unions in the university.

Despite the obvious facts which give credit to Honourable Oboro for sponsoring and getting the bill passed, Senator Omo-Agege who has the antecedent for stealing other people’s works, in his desperation to cover his shame got one of his political aides, Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa in charge of Media and Strategy, to issue a watering statement full of contradictions and misinformation about the bill.

Senator Omo-Agege’s continue display of ignorance on the bill, in his narrations in the statement circulated to online media particularly bigpenngr.com and deltanewsroom.com shows clearly how bereft and illiterate he is in legislative matters. This is however not surprising, judging by the fact that Omo-Agege came half way to the Senate through the back door and equally missed the orientation/induction course by the National Institute of Legislative Studies, NILS. It is not late for him to enroll in the institute, where they teach newcomers about the workings of the National Assembly. This will save him of the embarrassment and disgrace of wanting to steal other people’s work.

FOR THE RECORDS

FUPRE Bill assented to by President Buhari emanated from the House of Representatives. It was sponsored in 2014 by Honourable Evelyn Oboro during her first tenure in the Green Chamber. The bill was passed by the House, sent to the Senate for concurrence and transmitted to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who could not assent to it before the end of his administration in 2015. In February, 2016, Honourable Evelyn Oboro re-introduced the bill and in less than three months, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate for concurrence. At this point, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was just a month old in the Green Chamber having arrived in January, 2016.

FUPRE Bill, which President Buhari assented to, is a House or Member’s bill sponsored by Honourable Oboro and not an Executive bill from the executive arm of government, nor Senate Bill as erroneously presented by Omo-Agege. It is a false presentation by Senate Omo-Agege of the FUPRE Bill gazetted 2016 SB 226 in his name, “Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege”. To properly clarify this, please see attached National Assembly Journal of 7th July, 2014, No. 12, Vol. 11, where the FUPRE Bill was listed as the first item. It was also on 1st February, 2016 of same journal listed as the first item with No. 06, Vol. 13. This is further supported by attached letter of the House of Representatives dated 24th May, 2016 and addressed to the Clark of the Senate ofthe Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Contained in the letter were three bills including that of FUPRE, that were passed by the Green Chamber and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.

By the rules governing the National Assembly, when a bill is passed by a particular chamber it is sent to the other chamber for concurrence. Before the passage of the bill everything including Public Hearing would have conducted. When the FUPRE Bill got the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege craftily staged managed a Public Hearing, to deceive some Urhobo traditional rulers that the bill was his handiwork.  He was also alleged to have arm-twisted management of the institution by collecting from them the sum of Twenty Million naira for the purpose, visitation to the University and so on. Senator Omo-Agege cannot pretend that he is not aware that Honourable Evelyn Oboro in 2016 wrote a letter to the Senate President about the FUPRE Bill, that he was about claiming the bill to be his personal bill.

The last time we checked, the FUPRE Bill Senator Omo-Agege is parading is word for word of the bill Honourable Evelyn Oboro sponsored and got passed at the House of Representatives. This has been his style. Let us not forget in a hurry, how same Omo-Agege who came to the Senate in January, 2016, almost laid claim to have been the one that influenced the Agbor-Abraka-Eku-Sapele Road Dualisation awarded by the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration, until the lawmaker representing Ethiope East State Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Evance Ivwurie, who made frantic effort that led to commencement of work on the road, cried out.

SOME BIILS SPONSORED BY HON. EVELYN OBORO

8/112/26 HB. 381 Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun Bill, 2016 Passed by both Houses

Recommitted 11/5/2017 14/6/2017HB. 382 Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 Passed by the House and Transmitted to the Senate for concurrence

9/6/2016HB. 458 National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 Bill consolidated with HB. 771 and Awaiting Second Reading

11/10/2016HB. 459 Trade Malpractices Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 Bill consolidated with HB. 368 referred to Committee on Commerce

26/4/2016HB. 460 Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015 Referred to Committee on Justice

26/9/2017HB. 1135 Nigerian Red Cross Society Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017Introduced 27/9/2017 and Awaiting Second Reading

In conclusion, we want to categorically state that, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and his gang may have stolen the works and mandate of other of people but, they cannot get away by stealing anything that belongs to Honourable Evelyn Oboro. She cannot be intimidated by him despite his boast to deal with her as a woman. Politically, Omo-Agege has never participated and won any political party primaries as well as any general elections. The mandate is he claiming today, is one he desperately and wickedly got through the instrumentality of a corrupt and failed system. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege should bother himself with the resistance he is getting from Delta APC over his attempt to ascribe to himself the leadership of the party.

SIGNED:

Comrade Harry Odafe

Media Aide to Honourable Evelyn Oboro