The African Democratic Congress (ADC) House of Representatives candidate for Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency of Delta State in the 2027 general elections, Julius Akpovoka, has accused former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, of betraying him during the 2015 general elections, despite his alleged contributions to Omo-Agege’s emergence as a senator.
Key Highlights
- ADC Reps candidate Julius Akpovoka accuses Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of betraying him in the 2015 elections.
- Akpovoka alleges his Ward 3/7 votes were cancelled while Omo-Agege’s were accepted.
- He claims he facilitated Omo-Agege’s entry into the Labour Party in 2014.
- Akpovoka also alleges Omo-Agege worked against former Ughelli North council chairman Love Idisi.
- The claims are allegations made by Akpovoka; Omo-Agege’s response was not included in this report.
Akpovoka, who recounted his political experience in an interview with The Trumpet, alleged that Omo-Agege failed to support his House of Representatives bid during the collation of results and subsequent legal proceedings, even though they contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party.
He claimed that the alleged betrayal cost him the opportunity to enter the House of Representatives, while Omo-Agege eventually secured his senatorial seat through litigation.
“On the day of collation of results, Omo-Agege betrayed me. I am saying these things for the whole world to hear. He betrayed me, but despite that, I stood my ground and we took the matter to court. He also betrayed me in court, and he emerged as a senator,” Akpovoka said.
How They Came Together In Labour Party
Explaining the circumstances that brought them together politically, Akpovoka said he had initially supported Chief David Edevbie during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in 2014, insisting that Edevbie won the contest ahead of the 2015 general elections.
He said his desire to see an Urhobo man become governor of Delta State prompted him to join the Labour Party to support Chief Great Ogboru in the governorship election.
According to him, he committed his personal resources to Ogboru’s campaign and also facilitated Omo-Agege’s entry into the Labour Party, after the latter lost the PDP governorship primary.
Akpovoka explained that he had initially sought the Labour Party’s House of Representatives nomination form but was told that only the senatorial form was available. He said he rejected the senatorial form because he was interested in contesting for the House of Representatives.
He added that he subsequently informed the late Chief Austin Uloho, their political leader, who intervened by contacting Omo-Agege and Ogboru through the then President-General of the community, Ejirofo.
“After Omo-Agege scored five votes in the governorship primary of the PDP, he came to the Labour Party, took the Senate form and we worked for him, and he emerged a senator. I also emerged as the House of Representatives candidate for the Labour Party,” he said.
Alleged ‘Trade By Barter’ At Collation
Akpovoka alleged that during the collation of results, an arrangement that he described as “trade by barter” worked against his candidacy.
He said Omo-Agege contested the Delta Central Senatorial District election on the Labour Party platform, while Chief Ighoyota Amori was the PDP senatorial candidate. Akpovoka contested the Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency seat for Labour, against the PDP candidate, Solomon Awhinawhi.
According to him, the alleged arrangement resulted in a situation where votes credited to Omo-Agege and the PDP presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, were accepted, while his own votes were cancelled.
He cited results from his Ward 3/7 in Ughelli North, claiming that he scored 14,700 votes out of a total of 15,200 registered voters, while Omo-Agege and Jonathan allegedly recorded similar figures in their respective contests.
Akpovoka alleged that although his votes were cancelled, Omo-Agege insisted that his own scores should be accepted and entered into the official results.
“I was the one that called Omo-Agege and Great Ovedje Ogboru from Abraka that if they didn’t come, they would lose the election. They came to Ughelli, and after he came, I called him to a corner and briefed him on what was happening.
“He stood his ground that his scores must be accepted and entered, but he did not stand for mine to be accepted and entered. At the end, mine was cancelled,” he said.
He further claimed that the disputed Ward 3/7 result contributed significantly to Omo-Agege’s eventual victory in the senatorial contest through the courts.
“It was that result of Ward 3/7 that made Omo-Agege win that election. If he had stood for my figures to be entered, we would have both won the election together,” Akpovoka alleged.
The ADC candidate maintained that he possessed the election result sheets that supported his case, adding that his legal challenge was unsuccessful despite what he described as the quality of the evidence available to him.
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Allegations Over Idisi, Ward Allocation
Beyond the 2015 election, Akpovoka accused Omo-Agege of working against the political interests of Ughelli Kingdom and Ughelli North Local Government Area.
He alleged that Omo-Agege played a role in the removal of former Ughelli North council Chairman, Love Idisi, who died in an accident while travelling to Abuja, after a petition was reportedly lodged against him at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Akpovoka, who said he was a councillor during Idisi’s tenure, alleged that four councillors loyal to Omo-Agege petitioned the former chairman, a development he linked to the circumstances preceding Idisi’s death.
“The first assignment he did was to make sure that Love Idisi did not complete his tenure as a council chairman. He destroyed Idisi to bring his boy, Friday Onojia, and made sure they impeached Idisi for Onojia,” he alleged.
He added: “If that petition was not there and EFCC did not invite him, would he travel from here to Abuja? So something led to the petition that led to the death of Idisi.”
Akpovoka also accused Omo-Agege of influencing the allocation of political wards in Delta State to the disadvantage of Ughelli Kingdom.
He alleged that during the creation of wards under former Governor James Ibori, Ughelli was allocated five wards instead of eight, claiming that Omo-Agege opposed any arrangement that would give Ughelli more wards than Orogun.
“James Ibori created wards. Ughelli was given five instead of eight because Omo-Agege said Ughelli cannot be more than Orogun, and he gave Orogun five, meanwhile, in terms of voting strength, Ughelli is far more than Orogun,” he said.
The ADC candidate said he decided to recount his experience to warn Ughelli people against repeating what he described as past political mistakes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We are dying here in Ughelli Kingdom for Omo-Agege, and I don’t want this to repeat itself again. Omo-Agege does not want the progress of Ughelli Kingdom,” Akpovoka alleged.
The allegations against Omo-Agege, including those relating to the 2015 election results, the removal of Idisi and the allocation of political wards, were claims made by Akpovoka during the interview. Omo-Agege’s response was not included in the account provided for this report.
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