by Frank Tietie
The resignation of Ovie Omo-Agege from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State is not an ordinary political development. It is a seismic political event with grave implications for the future of the APC in Delta State, the political destiny of the Urhobo people and perhaps even the electoral calculations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the next general elections.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s departure from the APC follows what he considers the brazen rigging and manipulation of the Delta Central Senatorial Primary Election, which purportedly returned Senator Ede Dafinone as the winner. More painful is the allegation that the APC leadership at both state and national levels failed or refused to address the obvious irregularities complained of by Omo-Agege and his supporters.
This development reveals a dangerous contradiction within the APC. A political party that ought to reward loyalty, sacrifice and political investment has instead chosen expediency and internal betrayal. Senator Omo-Agege had voluntarily conceded the leadership structure of the Delta APC following Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s defection to the party. He did so in the interest of party unity and broader electoral calculations—such an act required unusual political maturity, discipline and strategic restraint.
Unfortunately, the APC failed to show fidelity to a man who had built the party structure in Delta State almost from the ground up. Before Omo-Agege emerged as a dominant force in Delta politics, the APC in Delta was largely fragmented and electorally weak. It was under his leadership that the party became nationally competitive in Delta State and produced one of the strongest opposition movements in the South-South region. That same political asset has now been discarded.
The implications of Omo-Agege’s exit are quite enormous. First, the APC has suffered a monumental political loss in Delta State. Senator Omo-Agege is not merely a politician with supporters; he is a political institution in Delta Central and across large parts of Delta State. His grassroots appeal among the Urhobo people remains unmatched by any current APC figure in the state. Indeed, if Senator Omo-Agege decides to contest the Delta Central Senatorial seat under the platform of virtually any viable political party, there is a strong chance he will secure a landslide victory. Such reality alone exposes the APC’s strategic blunder.
Second, the resignation reveals a deeper, more troubling reality about the state of Urhobo political consciousness. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that enemies of the Urhobo nation, from far and near and within, did not want Omo-Agege to emerge as the APC Senatorial candidate because of his very bright prospects of eventually becoming the Senate President of Nigeria. Such a possibility was not imaginary but clearly pragmatic.
Senator Omo-Agege had already served as Deputy Senate President and possessed both legislative experience and national political visibility. His return to the Senate under favourable political circumstances could have placed him among the leading contenders for the office of Senate President in the next dispensation. Such a prospect would have elevated Urhobo political relevance at the highest level of national governance. That possibility now appears to have been deliberately sabotaged, and one wonders why a people would be so naive.
Every conceivable political chicanery appears to have been deployed against Omo-Agege from the moment he emerged as the winner. Yet, the ordinary people of Delta Central actually voted for him in large numbers despite the state government’s negative persuasion. What is even more unfortunate is that many within the Urhobo political establishment either failed to recognise the strategic implications or were overtaken by the immediate temptations of prebendal politics.
The tragedy of the Urhobo people, particularly their leaders, has often been the inability to sustain a collective political vision beyond immediate personal gains. Time and again, opportunities for historic political advancement have been undermined by internal divisions, elite rivalry and short-term calculations. The Omo-Agege episode sadly fits into that pattern. The Urhobo people may ultimately pay a heavy price for this failure of foresight.
Beyond Delta State, Omo-Agege’s resignation should also deeply concern President Tinubu and the APC’s national leadership. Surprisingly, the President and his political strategists have not been sufficiently circumspect to realise that the APC’s chances of making meaningful electoral gains in Delta State have seriously diminished with Omo-Agege’s exit from the party.
Delta State is not a politically ordinary state in the South-South. It is strategic in terms of demographics, economics, and electoral symbolism. The APC’s pathway to serious competitiveness in Delta was substantially anchored on Omo-Agege’s political machinery, personal influence and ability to mobilise grassroots support across Delta Central and beyond. Without him, the APC risks becoming politically hollow in Delta State despite the high-profile defections it has recently celebrated.
Politics is ultimately about trust, reward for loyalty and the careful management of political capital. When a party appears unwilling to protect one of its most valuable political assets from what is perceived as internal injustice, it sends a dangerous signal to both loyalists and prospective allies.
The resignation of Ovie Omo-Agege is therefore not just the exit of one politician from a political party. It is a profound commentary on the fragility of political loyalty, the consequences of elite conspiracy and the recurring inability of the Urhobo political class to rally behind strategic historical opportunities.
History may yet judge this episode as one of the greatest political miscalculations in the evolution of both the APC in Delta State and modern Urhobo politics.
Frank Tietie
Lawyer, Media Personality and Civil Society Leader writes from Abuja
