Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, has accused a cabal within the Presidency of frustrating the political relevance of former Deputy Senate President and 2023 governorship candidate of the party in the state, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
Sen. Nwaoboshi, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Sunday Vanguard, where he alleged that the said individuals have systematically ensured that Omo-Agege does not receive any form of recognition or patronage from the present administration.
He said that while Sen. Omo-Agege had contributed immensely to the growth of the APC in Delta State, including playing a decisive role in the emergence of other senators under the party’s platform, a few powerful figures in the Presidency decided to “gang up” against him after the 2023 elections.
“The APC in Delta State was a united family until after the president won the election. There was no contest as to who was the leader of the party.
“But some persons in the Presidency, for their personal reasons, created a crisis and worked against Omo-Agege.
“They are the ones who have denied him access and recognition in the present government. I know them, and at the right time, I will expose them,” Sen. Nwaoboshi said.
On his relationship with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Sen. Nwaoboshi said his decision to align with the governor, who recently joined the APC, was based on political reality and the need for peace in the state’s ruling party.
He stressed that once a sitting governor joins or belongs to a party, he automatically becomes the leader of that party in the state, citing precedents during the administrations of Chief James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
“When Chief James Ibori was governor, he ran for a second term; nobody challenged him in the party primary. The same thing happened when Uduaghan and Okowa ran for re-election.
“It is difficult to change the system when a sitting governor is running for a second term. So I have told Omo-Agege as an elder brother that it would be near impossible to challenge Oborevwori in 2027 if they both remain in the APC,” he said.
Sen. Nwaoboshi revealed that he had held private discussions with Sen. Omo-Agege, advising him to avoid a direct confrontation with the governor.
He added that he also met with Gov. Oborevwori and urged him to accord the former governorship candidate due recognition as a past leader of the party.
“Sen. Omo-Agege’s only concern, which he expressed to me, is that he should be respected and recognised as a former leader of the APC in Delta State.
“He is a former deputy Senate president; he deserves that. But now, the governor is here, and automatically, he is the leader. That is why I told both of them that they must work together in peace,” he noted.
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Responding to reports that Sen. Omo-Agege was nursing another governorship ambition in 2027, Sen. Nwaoboshi dismissed the speculation, saying it was not consistent with their private discussions.
“To the best of my knowledge, Omo-Agege is not running for governorship under the APC in 2027. Unless he changed his mind in the last few days, I don’t think so.
“I wouldn’t want people to blackmail him or create unnecessary friction between him and the governor. My position is that the governor should bring everybody together, and I believe he will,” he explained.
The APC stalwart maintained that what Delta APC needs at this point was reconciliation, inclusiveness, and stability rather than political acrimony.
“There is a need for interaction between the governor and Omo-Agege. Both of them must work together for peace and progress in the party. That has been my consistent advice,” he stated.
Nwaoboshi insisted that he would not shy away from exposing those in the Presidency who, according to him, instigated divisions in the party.
“The people in the Presidency who engineered the Delta APC crisis know themselves. They tried to undermine Omo-Agege, but at the appropriate time, I will call them out by name,” he vowed.
