The immediate past Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has become a target of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
While leaders within the PDP are keen for him to return to the party, secure the gubernatorial ticket, and pursue his governorship ambition in 2027, those in the APC are reportedly considering disciplinary measures against him over his claim to the party’s leadership in Delta State.
Sources reveal that Omo-Agege is caught in a dilemma of whether to remain in APC or return to PDP.
In a statement dated 30 April 2025 and signed by Valentine Onojeghuo, State Publicity Secretary of Delta APC, the party asserted that with the defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to APC, he now assumes the position of leader of the party in Delta State.
The statement, titled “Delta APC Reaffirms the Position of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as Leader of APC in the State,”; affirmed: “It is a principle consistent with our party’s tradition and leadership structure across the federation, whereby the sitting governor of a state under the APC platform becomes the leader of the party in that state.”;
Consequently, Delta APC described as “strange, arrogant and reprehensible”; any attempt by an individual to continue to “arrogate or to parade himself as the leader of the party in Delta State in clear opposition to the present reality of the governor as leader of the party.”;
The statement further warned: “We will not tolerate any dissenting opinions or actions that seek to challenge or undermine this fact. Any such posture would amount to a deliberate act of provocation and a source of avoidable tension within our party ranks.
“Let it be known that such divisive tendencies will be firmly resisted, and anyone who seeks to undermine this position by continuing to parade himself as such will face severe sanctions from the party.”;
Meanwhile, former Commissioner for Higher Education and Agriculture in Delta State, Professor Patrick Muoboghere, has urged Senator Omo-Agege to return to PDP to realise his gubernatorial ambition in 2027.
Muoboghere extended this invitation while reacting to the wave of defections from PDP to APC in Delta State, stating that, like a lion, Omo-Agege had been “caged in his own den.”;
According to him: “He should not allow himself to be humiliated and pushed around in the APC, where his leadership is being undermined. The PDP is ready to welcome him back with open arms and support his governorship ambition and ensure he succeeds in his political endeavours.”;
The PDP chieftain also described Vice President Shettima’s remarks—“Omo-Agege is my friend, work with him”;—as an insult to the distinguished senator, noting that Omo-Agege had only a day earlier issued a press statement welcoming Governor Oborevwori to APC as party leader, only to be told within 24 hours to “queue behind the governor and work with him.”;
“Senator Omo-Agege made a statement on Sunday welcoming the Governor to the party in his capacity as a leader of the party in the state, but within 24 hours, he was stripped of his title and compelled to work with the governor.
“The governor is the leader of the party and Omo-Agege, who has built the party and has been working hard to gather followers, has just been stripped of his leadership and is being chased away from the party. In any political party, after the governor, every other person is immaterial because everybody must follow the governor, and in this case, once the governor indicates interest to contest the election, there will be no primary election and the party will give him the ticket,”; he stated.
He characterised the episode as insulting, degrading, and demeaning to Omo-Agege, who was the APC governorship candidate in Delta State during the 2023 elections.
Muoboghere reassured Omo-Agege and other potential returnees that PDP remains the right platform for them to pursue their political aspirations, should they choose to return.
He also encouraged those who had defected to APC to reconsider and come back to PDP, where, he emphasised, they would be valued and respected. He reiterated PDP’s commitment to unity, inclusiveness, and fairness, principles which, he said, have long defined the party’s political culture.
