It was a roll call of who is who
in the political and economic sector as several national and State top dignitaries
attended the thanksgiving service of His Excellency, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege on Sunday
at the Mother of Redeemer Catholic Church, Effurun.
Among the dignitaries present
include Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi
Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapha; Governors
Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Nasiru El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) and
Hope Uzodinma (Imo).
Others are former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori; APC
National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; Minister of State for Petroleum,
Timipre Silva; Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo SAN; Clerk of the
National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, lawmakers from both chambers of the
National Assembly, captains of industry, among others.
Nigeria’s Vice President
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Delta
State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa were among top dignitaries that extolled the
leadership qualities of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie
Omo-Agege.
Obarisi Omo-Agege was applauded for his courage to weather the
storm in difficult political terrain as well as break the jinx of not only
being the first Urhobo senator to be reelected but also as the first senator
from the area to become the nation's Number Six Citizen.
They spoke on Sunday at a Thanksgiving Mass by Senator
Omo-Agege.
The event which held at Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Church,
Effurun, Delta State, attracted dignitaries from all walks of life including
In his remarks, Prof. Osinbajo lauded the Deputy President of
the Senate for his courage, patriotism, and commitment to nation-building.
The Vice President also commended him for his loyalty to the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said: “Brilliant and bright as a lawyer is not sufficient to
win an election in rugged terrain. Omo-Agege has just described this place as
rugged and everybody knows.
“Omo-Agege came not just with brilliance but with enough
courage, loyalty and reliability to start first as a politician and secondly as
Deputy President of the Senate.
“He might not be doing justice to everybody but the President of
the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and himself were the unanimous choices of most of us.
“His courage, loyalty and steadfastness, not only was he
rewarded by his constituent but also by the leadership of our great party and
the Ninth Senate.
“With your loyalty to the party and steadfastness, I am
convinced that we are going to see much from you".
On his part, Lawan submitted that Senator Omo-Agege possesses
rare leadership qualities among his peers.
"Courageous and never shy away from taking responsibility,
this is the kind of leadership traits that we need in our leaders today. We are
thankful to God for all the blessings He has bestowed on him.
"He is a big blessing to us even though we emerged
unopposed.
"Today, the Senate is one. In fact, here we have all the
principal officers from the Senate, led by no other person than the Leader of the
Minority himself, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. And of course, we believe in the
nation, particularly at this time," Lawan said.
On his part, Governor Okowa stressed the need for thanksgiving
even as he congratulated Omo-Agege on his emergence as Deputy President of the
Senate.
According to Okowa, "It is never late to give thanks my
brother. So we rejoice with you as a state and as a people. And we want to
thank God for the brothers and sisters who made it possible to the glory of God
to take you to this elevated position.
"Obviously your position is a call to service first as
service to our nation and secondly as service to our state".
He urged him to use his position to attract more federal
presence in the state.
Speaking at the thanksgiving, Senator Omo-Agege pointed out that
despite the challenges faced by the country, there is light at the end of the
tunnel.
He assured that he would continue to use his position to advance
the cause of national unity.
He said: "I will seek to push for those things that bring
us together as a country than those things that tear us apart.
"Listening to the sermon of Father Ozele, yes we have
challenges in the country, nobody is denying that but our people need to
understand that these are very serious challenges that only one man cannot
solve all of these. It requires the collective response of all of us.
"For us in the Senate, that is the path we are taking to
work, cooperate with Mr. President, to create that working environment so that
all of those things that we know that he needs to address the myriads of
challenges that Father Ozele has mentioned here today, he is able to do them.
That is all I owe the President, that is all I owe to my people and all that I
owe Nigerians".
Earlier in his homily, Rev. Fr. Anthony Mario Ozele commended
the Deputy President of the Senate for his steadfastness and commitment to
nation building.
He also called on the political class to imbibe the spirit of
forgiveness at all times.
"Thanks to God, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege knows that what he
is, what he has and what he is now comes from the Lord God almighty. Having
been soaked in the culture of Thanksgiving Day celebration in the United State
of America, the Senator knows well and acknowledges what the Psalmist say which
is unless the Lord builds the house, in vein the builders labour.
"We gathered today to appreciate the goodness and favours
of God to celebrate in thanksgiving, the supreme hands of the almighty, shaping
the affairs of men on ways beyond our understanding. For who could have
imagined that a first term Senator from Delta State will make much impact at
the national level that in only his second term after a brutal election, he
will rise to the position of the Deputy Senate President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria?
"The political pathway to the top for the Senator has been
rough and rugged to say the least. This champion of Urhobo cultural unity with
his never-say-die attitude has painstakingly weathered the deluge of
political storms and he has found himself in the company that many can only
dream of. There are times when he had to resort to some level of political
braggadocio and abracadabra. Some elements of gargantuan and rugged
determination, that Warri-no-dey-carry-last attitude.
"In all of it, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has shown a capacity
for not only political survival but an ability to stay relevant and reliable.
His interests in furthering the political gains and development of his people
remain highly commendable.
"Obarisi, I salute you. I salute your courage and
commitment. And I dare say that this celebration and thanksgiving is not only
for the Omo-Agege family or the ruling APC but it is for the entire Urhobo
nation who have never attained such lofty and political heights in her
history," he said.
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