By Matthew Odiete
Ordinarily, the argument between Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s aides and Senator Peter Nwaoboshi over whether or not Nwaoboshi entreated the former Deputy Senate President not to vie for the APC ticket in the 2027 Gubernatorial primaries in order to preserve party tradition, unity and cohesion, should have been left as the words of two friends against each other.
Sadly and senselessly, in refuting Nwaoboshi’s said claim, Chuks Erhire, described as “a key aide to the former Deputy Senate President,” committed a reckless political blunder by needlessly abusing the Distinguished Senator and a pillar of the party in Delta North, and also insulted the intelligence of Deltans by dragging the name of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori into their argument.
It would have been enough to simply restate Agege’s resolve to run, deny the said meeting or simply disagree with Nwaoboshi’s position, without the invectives poured on his Principal’s friend, but it was even most uncharitable and dishonourable to have descended into the political falsehood that Deltans are experiencing underdevelopment and impoverishment under the present administration.
While one can understand Agege’s bitterness and desperation, and the disillusionment of his soldiers, the lie in Erhire’s claim is too obvious to ignore, even though it is well known that dishonour, falsehood and empty propaganda are characteristic of their clan.
All across the state, Deltans have come to the conviction that Oborevwori is the best Governor the state has had.
They are pleased with the decisiveness with which he completed the Asaba-Ughelli Expressway, the major artery that connects the three districts of the state. So too are they pleased with the urban renewal of Warri/Effurun and environs with the three flyover bridges being constructed simultaneously; the addition of more flyovers at critical road sections in Agbor and Ughelli; the intensity of work on the Trans-Warri Ode-Itsekiri road; the completion of the Beneku Bridge and work on the Aboh-Akarai road; the Orhere Bridge; expanded Storm Water Drainage works in Asaba, Warri, Ika and various major city centres; the hundreds of major and internal road constructions across Aniocha, Oshimili, Ika, Ndokwa, Isoko, Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo lands, indeed across all the districts, local government areas and communities across the state, and especially the efforts towards on-boarding the coastal communities into more integrated economic life through the provision of critical infrastructure.
Oborevwori has maintained the same high performance in the education, health, agriculture, human capital development and various other sectors.
Except to satisfy their usual sense of denial, Agege’s soldiers are well aware that in the social sector, Oborevwori has uplifted over 250,000 lives through various empowerment schemes, swiftly solved the jigsaw of Local Government Pensions, maintained steady payment of State Public Service Pensioners, recently released N10 billion for the payment of backlog of pensions accumulated before his inception, and flagged off the Widows Welfare Programme in a powerful way, with over 10,000 beneficiaries.
In the energy sector, he has begun a new path, not only with the passing into law of the Delta State Electricity Act, but by immediately activating it with the signing of an MOU with the Rural Electrification Agency for the deployment of off-grid electricity to 471 unserved communities across the state, an initiative that is projected not only to infuse about $2.9 billion into the GDP of the state, but also calculated to generate over 30,000 jobs, while typically impacting positively on various social service institutions.
The list of his achievements and emerging legacies is endless. Deltans see his performance as sterling, visible and assuring. They know that they have never had it so good, and do not wish for a different Governor, talk less of an Agege, come 2027.
Though politics is free, it is no reason for an insect to think itself a bird. When it comes to electoral worth and value, Oborevwori has beaten Agege severally, from the polls to the tribunal and to the Supreme Court, and will always beat him, whether he decides to vie in the APC primaries or shies into the emerging coalition of hungry, angry and discredited old politicians, where he truly belongs.
The last election result makes that clear. Oborevwori 21 – 4 Agege. The 4 were only from his homestead, and was secured mostly by the crude bullying of his people.
If not for the delusion of ambition, Agege should know that Deltans do not credit him with any sense of character nor responsibility, the reason why they rejected him in preference for Oborevwori.
The syndrome of disorder, party indisciple and lack of team spirit in Agege’s camp have now again been demonstrated in their reference to new members of the APC as “tenants”, against the principles and values of the party, even as was re-echoed by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the reception rally in Asaba, that there are no old or new members in the party, not to talk of landlords and tenants.
It is by this same landlord mentality that Agege destroyed the APC in Delta State, with his disrespect for the founding fathers, chieftains and drivers like O’tega Emerhor, Great Ogboru, Festus Keyamo, Cairo Ojougbo, Stella Okotete, several executives of the party and even the Senators representing the three districts of the state.
It should be clear to Agege and his toy soldiers that his old game is up. For the avoidance of doubt, members of the APC, both at the state and national levels, know better now, notwithstanding his failed scampering, clinging on straw to consolidate his grip on the party structure when Oborevwori came in.
They can see that Delta APC is now refreshed, better organised, better managed, more united and energised with firmer hope under the leadeship of Oborevwori.
Only recently, the Chairmen of the party across the 25 local government areas expressed their satisfaction with the performance of the Governor in the delivery of development projects as well as in his leadership of the party.
“Governor Oborevwori has been a known performer. The projects across the state speak for themselves, and he is only getting better. Now that he is working directly and closely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, things are even better than they were before. We are very proud of him, and Deltans are proud of him,” they said.
So, which APC is Agege and his aides bellyaching over? Should they even be reminded that the party is well aware of his dislike, disdain, disrespect and disloyalty to President Tinubu, and his suspected clandestine romance with opposition elements who surreptitiously promote banditry to destabilise the polity in pursuit of political gains?
Back home, if nothing else, it is extreme shame, no matter the desperation, that Agege would authorise his key aide to refer to Nwaoboshi, his old political ally, as “petty” and “mischief maker,” merely for purportedly saying he “entreated” him not to contest against the sitting Governor and leader of the party in the state.
Of course, he reserves the right to disregard the advice, but that should not lead to insult the adviser and to monger falsehood about the glaring good works of the Governor.
But, it all speaks to his inconsistency and unstable nature. He probably forgot that only last year, perhaps as it suited him then, he described Nwaoboshi as ‘a worthy leader, brother and friend who have consistently proven to be a champion we can trust to defend the best values, interests and overall good of all our people; a stabilising force in the complex political dynamics of our dear Delta State and, by extension, the Nigerian Project; always on the solid ground of justice, equity, and fairness; putting primordial politics and related sentiments aside; a great statesman with bold, positive leadership impacts; fiercely loyal to his sound convictions; and an inspiration to so many young people in politics.’
It is this same Nwaoboshi that Agege has authorised his young political aides to abuse profusely for the sake of a vaulting ambition which Deltans rejected yesterday, have rejected today, and would reject tomorrow and in 2027.
As Ola Rotimi wouid say, it is only sickness that can be cured, not death. Laughably, Agege does not seem to understand that he is politically dead, not because Oborevwori came into the APC, but because Deltans know that he lacks the political self-control, humility and loyalty expected of a true leader to the cause and aspirations of his people, and how he betrayed the leader who raised him in his shoulders in honour of the late revered patriarch from whose loins he came, and prodigiously frittered away the honour.
Unfortunately for him, dead men never know when they are dead nor when they are buried, and as for his so-called “pragmatic soldiers,” it is not unusual for flies without advisers to follow a corpse to its grave.
A word is enough for the wise…
_Odiete, a political analyst and commentator, writes from Ughelli, Delta State_
