Things have fallen apart between Ovie Omo Agege, the incumbent Senator representing Delta Central and Chief Great Ogboru, Governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Delta State.
As it is today, the Senatorial District where they both hail from and the state APC is in a mess politically.
Stakeholders in the senatorial district who looked into the causes of the remote and immediate problem of the once two reliable friends who had always presented a common front in all party issues since they got the endorsement of APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and traced them to politics, self-centeredness, and greed.
One of the immediate causes is the emergence of Ogboru’s running mate, Ossai Abeh, as regards competence and capacity to add value to the leadership qualities of Chief Great Ogboru.
According to a source close to Ovie Omo Agege, who does not want his name in print, he said the ticket of Ogboru/Ossai cannot win an election for APC in the state. He said it is a major political miscalculation from Great Ogboru who did not consult the Senator before choosing Abbey.
“I am particularly grateful to Ogboru for rewarding Ossai Abeh as his own running mate on the basis of a long outstanding political relationship built on absolute loyalty. But Ogboru should engage political strategist to read the winning lines as PDP are not sleeping” Omo Agege was quoted by a source.
According to him, Ogboru hails from Abraka a town that is five minutes drive from Obiaruku. Abraka is in Delta Central while Obiaruku is from Delta North but the proximity of the two communities defeat the choice of Ossai Abeh as a running mate.
Again, Ogboru maternally hails from Umukwatta community in Ukwuani LGA, a town that is less than 15 minutes drive from Obiaruku. Ogboru’s father from Abraka and the mother from Umukwatta community in Ukwuani LGA with a running mate from same Ukwuani LGA, this is indeed a major political miscalculation making APC look clannish in political patronage.
Similarly, Ossai Sylvanus Annantram, a political analyst, claimed Ogboru, in his bid to dominate the APC political landscape with all his loyalists from Labour Party, did sponsor his private secretary, Eze Omolu who hails from Obiaruku to run for the Ukwuani State Constituency election into the Delta State House of Assembly.
Though the official APC report on the screening of aspirants of House of Assembly reported that Eze Omolu, who is Ogboru’s private secretary was not cleared to contest the primaries, he finally won the primaries of APC powered by Ogboru.
Shocking with this new development about Abeh as a running mate coming from same Obiaruku community with Eze Omolu as House of Assembly candidate for APC both voting in the same unit in the same ward in Ukwuani LGA.
“If Ogboru has settled for Abeh as his own running mate, he should have allowed either Dav Ochonogor or Emeka Ossai both from Umutu the next thickly populated community in Ukwuani LGA to Obiaruku as State Assembly candidate, not his private secretary, Eze Omolu.
Surprisedly, Ndokwa West that is enjoying a greater number of voting strength from the INEC records was not considered for a running mate. Ideally, Ogboru should have gone to Utagba Uno for his running mate, which is the most populous clan out of the 36 clans of Ndokwa Nation with a spirit of supporting the own for their integrity.
An Utagba Uno man as a running mate for Ogboru should have given Rear Admiral Mike Onah, Hon. Azaka Azuka, Senator. Patrick Osakwe, Hon. Ifeanyi Osakwe, Hon. Emeke Ukpe, Chief Festus Ochonogor, Barr. Sam Osasa Sir. Monday Onyeme a run for their monies.
Outside Ndokwa West, another important bloc in the Ndokwa Nation is Ndoshimili people, called the Ndokwa East.
Ogboru confessed to me, before a gathering of APC members from Ndokwa East, that he has never won elections in Ndokwa East.
Ndokwa East terrain provides for massive rigging of their elections, so, such a terrain should have called for this top job to be a basis to put all PDP rigging machinery to a halt in solidarity to their own.
However, outside Ndokwa Nation did Great Ogboru reached with top leaders of APC in Delta North to arrive at Abeh, did he consult Cairo Ojuigbo, Ike Odikpo, both we gathered were interested in running mate job? More importantly, if Ogboru is sure of the gubernatorial ticket is it not wise to liaise with Hyacinth Enuha to recommend a running mate from O’tega camp as a way of healing the wounds of the kangaroo primaries that defeat our party slogan for Change.
Contacted, President -General of Okere-Urhobo in Warri South Local Government and Delta South PDP Chieftain, Chief Emmanuel Okumagba has taken a swipe at Ogboru, saying the only antecedent he has was using his warehouse to execute a coup in the country.
While accusing Chief Ogboru of embarrassing Urhobos of Warri, he opined that if APC had chosen her gubernatorial candidate from Delta North, it would have been a difficult battle for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of PDP.
The running mate imbroglio informed why Jones Erue, Chairman of the Ogboru and Omo-Agege-led faction of APC has been dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly cloning the party’s single account in Zenith Bank with account number 1013797796.
Omo Agege was said to have advised the petitioner, A.O. Oputa, legal counsel to the state APC Treasurer, Ebiakpo Ezebri, and addressed to the EFCC Chairman, which alleged that the factional chairman of the party, cloned the account for the purpose of fraudulently diverting subscription fees, levies, gifts, donations of party members and grants from government, individuals and groups among others.
The petition was titled ‘The Cloning of the All Progressives Congress Single Account Kept with Zenith Bank with Account No. 1013797796 by Prophet Jones Ode Erue in First City Monument Bank (FCMB) with Account No. 2488983014 for the Purpose of Fraudulently Diverting Subscription Fees, Levies, Gifts, Donations of Party Members and Grants from Government, Individuals And Groups, etc.’
The petition read: “Our client was the Financial Secretary of APC, 2014–2018 and one of the mandatory signatories to the single account of the party kept with Zenith Bank with account No. 1013797796. This account is the official and the only account of the party in Delta State. It is a rule of the thumb that any other account to be opened by the party in any other bank shall be a resolution of the State Working Committee of the party in a general meeting.
The petitioner disclosed that his petitioning the cloning of the party bank account, necessitated a petition to the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja, which sources confided has become an issue of politics.
As part of the remote cause, OmoAgege wants to win a re-election and has preferred a the emergence of strong aspirants as party candidates for the three House of Representatives slots for Delta Central while Ogboru thought otherwise, prefers to accommodate other interests especially candidates from the former Governor of the state, Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Uduaghan who was said to have assured Ogboru of bankrolling his election has suddenly become a godfather pitched a tent with Ogboru and has his listening ears to make sure his loyalists emerge in the state especially in Delta Central where Ogboru and Omo- Agege hail from.
The unilateral decision of Ogboru to cave into Uduaghan’s demands has pitched him on a collision course with Omo-Agege. For instance, at Ethiope Federal Constituency, Uduaghan prefers Solomon Edojah while OmoAgege threw his weight behind Hakim Agoda for the House of Representatives slots.
The imbroglio further reared its ugly head in Uvwie/ Okpe and Sapele Constituency which has the immediate past Speaker of the state Assembly, Monday Igbuya and Henry Baro, former Chairman of Uvwie LGA as contenders. While Omo-Agege has wanted Baro to emerge, Uduaghan presented Igbuya. At both ends, Uduaghan and Ogboru have their ways.
Not restricted to Reps, in Ughelli Constituency 11, Jaro Egbo and Moses Anaughe, personal Aide to OmoAgege were in contention for the State Assembly ticket. Anaughe, with the support of his boss, was announced the winner of the primary but Uduaghan upturned it in Abuja and Egbo was given the ticket, a situation that annoyed Omo Agege.
Similarly, in Ughelli North Constituency 1, it was gathered that OmoAgege has assured Chief Ominimini Obiuwevbi of the party’s ticket in his own constituency but Ogboru rejected him.
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