A fresh wave of tension has hit the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress after former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, openly snubbed the party’s state chairman during a high-profile stakeholders’ meeting at Government House, Asaba.
The incident, now circulating widely in a viral video, has reignited concerns that deep-rooted rivalries among top party figures remain unresolved and could threaten APC unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting, convened to project harmony within the party following recent political realignments in the state, instead exposed lingering animosities among leading figures. Observers say the episode has further raised fears of internal implosion or defections if urgent reconciliation efforts are not pursued.
According to accounts from the meeting, Senator Omo-Agege arrived and greeted several party leaders seated at the high table. He acknowledged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo, SAN, and went on to exchange pleasantries with Delta State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori. However, he conspicuously ignored the APC State Chairman, Omeni Sobotie.
When the governor reportedly attempted to draw Omo-Agege’s attention to the omission, the former Senate leader brushed it aside with a remark that has since caused political ripples. He referred to Sobotie as “the governor’s chairman,” a comment many party insiders interpret as a deliberate slight and a signal of deeper factional divisions within the Delta APC.
The snub has revived memories of an earlier power tussle over who truly leads the APC in Delta State. Before Governor Oborevwori defected to the party, disagreements had already surfaced between Omo-Agege and Keyamo over control and influence within the state chapter.
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Those tensions appeared to intensify in March last year when Keyamo led a high-powered delegation of Delta APC leaders to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Notably absent from that visit was Omo-Agege, who was the party’s governorship candidate in the last general election and remains a major force with a substantial grassroots following across the state.
Present at the Abuja meeting were APC State Chairman Omeni Sobotie, Senators Ede Dafinone of Delta Central, Ned Nwoko of Delta North, and Joel-Onowakpo Thomas of Delta South. Also in attendance were House of Representatives member Francis Waive and former APC National Women Leader, Stella Okotete.
At the height of the controversy, journalists sought clarification from the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on who was officially recognised as the party leader in Delta State. His response was unequivocal. He identified Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, former Deputy President of the Ninth Senate, as the authentic leader of the party in the state at the time.
With the latest public snub now viral in political conversations in Delta, party watchers say the APC leadership must move quickly to manage egos and mend fences. Failure to do so, they warn, could weaken the party’s structure and electoral prospects as the countdown to 2027 gathers pace.
