By George Ozalla
The Office of Ovie Omo-Agege has rejected the demand by Sheriff Oborevwori that the former Deputy Senate President withdraw a video posted on his Facebook page, apologise to the Delta State House of Assembly and embrace what the governor described as issue based politics, insisting that the removal of Collins Egbetamah from the state legislature violated the Constitution and would be challenged in court.
According to a statement signed by Special Adviser on Strategy and Communications to Senator Omo-Agege, Godwin Anaughe, the former Deputy Senate President maintained that Governor Oborevwori’s response failed to address the constitutional issues surrounding the removal of Egbetamah and instead attempted to divert attention from what it described as a breach of due process.
The statement stated that the removal of Egbetamah was strictly an internal matter of the Delta State House of Assembly and wondered why Government House intervened after the Speaker of the Assembly had already addressed the issue.
It argued that there was no justification for the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ossai Ovie Success, to issue a statement demanding that critics of the Assembly’s decision retract their comments and apologise.
According to the statement, the intervention by Government House had answered the question many residents of Udu had been asking since June 30, 2026 regarding who authorised the removal of the lawmaker.
It said by publicly defending the Assembly’s action, the state government had reinforced public suspicion that the legislature did not act independently but merely carried out a political directive from Government House in Asaba.
The statement also alleged that before Governor Oborevwori defected to the All Progressives Congress, Egbetamah had suffered sustained political persecution within the Assembly because he refused to abandon the APC when it was politically expedient to do so.
It claimed that for two years the lawmaker was denied salaries, allowances and constituency project funds because of his loyalty to the APC, describing the alleged deprivation as part of a sustained campaign of political victimisation.
The statement further stated that after enduring the alleged financial punishment, Egbetamah was removed from office in a single sitting without prior notice or an opportunity to defend himself.
It argued that the governor relied only on Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution while ignoring Section 36, which guarantees every Nigerian the right to fair hearing before any adverse action is taken against them.
The statement maintained that although constitutional provisions may prescribe certain consequences, the Supreme Court has consistently held that an affected person must first be given the opportunity to be heard before such action is taken.
It added that Egbetamah was neither notified of the proceedings nor given the opportunity to invoke the constitutional exception relating to division within a political party before his seat was declared vacant.
The statement questioned why the Assembly convened, conducted a voice vote and declared the seat vacant in a single sitting if the constitutional position was as clear as the governor claimed, arguing that such haste suggested political influence rather than adherence to due process.
Responding to the governor’s allegation that Senator Omo-Agege’s Facebook video contained inaccurate statements, the statement said no specific falsehood had been identified.
It maintained that the assertions in the video that Egbetamah was denied fair hearing, that his removal was hurried and politically motivated, and that the people of Udu had consequently been left without representation, were factual and supported by the sequence of events.
On Governor Oborevwori’s reference to infrastructure projects, the statement acknowledged the administration’s claims of constructing roads and bridges, upgrading hospitals and implementing social welfare programmes, but insisted that such achievements could not excuse alleged constitutional violations.
It also questioned the utilisation of federal allocations received by Delta State, alleging that the state had received more than three trillion naira during Governor Oborevwori’s tenure and deserved to give Deltans a comprehensive account of how the resources had been expended and the impact they had made.
The statement stressed that the central issue remained the alleged unconstitutional removal of Egbetamah and the disenfranchisement of the people of Udu, insisting that no amount of reference to infrastructure projects could divert attention from the constitutional questions raised.
It dismissed suggestions that Senator Omo-Agege’s position on the matter could affect his political prospects in the 2027 elections, recalling that he had previously survived what it described as an unconstitutional attempt to remove him from the Senate through judicial intervention.
The statement said Senator Omo-Agege would neither withdraw the Facebook video nor apologise to the Delta State House of Assembly, maintaining that he remained committed to defending the constitutional rights of the people of Udu.
It expressed confidence that the matter would ultimately be resolved by the courts, insisting that the Constitution belongs to every Nigerian and would prevail.
The statement maintained that the people of Udu did not lose their representative through resignation, recall or a court judgment, but through what it described as an unconstitutional process carried out without due process, reaffirming Senator Omo-Agege’s commitment to continue pursuing legal redress until the matter is conclusively determined by the court.
