Okowa’s Aide Fires Back: “Omo-Agege’s Name Has Gone Down In History As A Desperate Power Monger, A Political Bandit”

Jackson Ekwugum, Manager, Communications, Government House, Asaba, Delta state, has urged Deltans not to place their future and fortune in the hands of Senator Ovie Omo-Ageg, the APC governorship candidate in the state, whom he referred to in an article as “a notorious political bandit.” 

According to www.bigpenngr.com, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege received backlash after his venomous attack on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s person at the APC rally held in Warri over the weekend.

In an opinion piece, Ekwugum claimed that the nation’s external debt had reached an astounding $40 billion as of the second quarter of this year thanks to the “rubber stamp” senate, of which Omo-Agege is the deputy president.

He asserted that Omo-Agege and his group of political opportunists are busy spinning phantom figures in a fruitless effort to confuse and mislead Nigerians, rather than expressing regret and apologizing to Nigerians for the pain and suffering they have endured under the APC’s misrule.

Ekwugum maintained that Omo-Agege as deputy senate president has nothing to offer Delta having failed to prevail on the APC-led federal government to fix the disrepair federal roads including Agbor-Abraka-Eku Road and Warri-Sapele-Benin road despite the humongous loans taken so far by the federal government.

 “It is shameful that Omo-Agege as Deputy Senate President could not prevail on the federal government to rehabilitate these roads that have remained a nightmare to motorists. 

 “The same scenario applies to the seaports, which is the sole responsibility of the federal government.” After almost four years, is it now that the APC realised that the Warri Sea Port is not functional?  

He claimed that while the truth was that Delta State had over N320 billion in receivables, including the N292 billion refund by FAAC as part of illegal deductions before the payment of the 13% derivation, Omo-Agege and his cohorts had continued to cunningly advance the false narrative of financial profligacy in the state. 

He expressed displeasure that Omo-Agege’s conception of politics and development begins and ends with his native Orogun, and that as a result, he had been unaware of Okowa’s good works in numerous communities, including the six bridges already built and an additional 15, including the Koka Flyover and Interchange on the Benin Asaba Expressway as well as roads projects commissioned by Vice President Osinbajo in the state’s riverine.

He maintained that it would have been unreasonable to expect a man whose name has become synonymous with political brigandage and subterfuge to suddenly embrace the fine art of constructive engagement and ideological debates in order to sell himself and win over the electorate.

“I am not at all surprised that Omo-Agege is not ready to run an issue-based campaign as has been canvassed. This is a desperate power monger whose name has gone down in history as a political bandit.  

“He needs to be reminded that Nigerians have not forgotten his dubious role in the infamous mace saga, which remains the greatest assault on our democracy and legislative freedom”.

He described Omo-Agege’s manifesto, which had been touted to high-heavens, as “nothing more than a cheap copy and paste job.”

All Omo-Agege, according to him, is good for is his mischief, uncouthness, brazen lies, wild conjectures, vile propaganda, and the bolekaja mentality, which is Yoruba for “come down let’s fight.” 

The governor’s aide lampooned the APC governorship candidate, who at a party rally in Warri claimed that Governor Okowa had betrayed the South in his bid for the vice presidency, when in fact, records show that Omo-Agege, who is now portraying himself as a champion of the southern presidency, was the one who spearheaded Senate President Ahmed Lawan’s campaign to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. 

“The truth of the matter is that such terms as equity, fairness, and justice, have no place in Omo-Agege’s dictionary.” 

To support his position, Ekwugum revealed that Omo-Agege, a fierce opponent of power shift in Delta State’s political landscape, had run for governor since 2007 while hopping from one party to another like a “shameless political prostitute”.  

Ekwugum recalled that in 2019, he (Omo-Agege) vehemently opposed attempts by some APC leaders to zone the governorship ticket to Delta North. The only candidate who dared to run, he claimed, almost lost his life. 

 “That is vintage Omo-Agege – vicious, cruel, and barbaric,” he said.

He also chastised Omo-Agege for daring to question the legitimacy of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori’s election as the PDP governorship candidate in Delta State, who he claimed won through a free, transparent, and credible primary in which he defeated twelve other candidates with 591 votes out of 821 cast. 

Omo-Agege, he claimed, became the APC’s governorship candidate through a kangaroo primary election after allegedly hijacking the electoral process of his party. 

“Compare that to Omo-Agege who, in his usual crude and despotic manner, hijacked the electoral process in the APC, connived with powerful forces to prevent others from contesting, and crowned himself the winner of a kangaroo primary election”, the article reads.