Until a few weeks ago, when former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor Sheriff Oborevweri of Delta State and his retinue of followers and the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Dennis Guwor dramatically decamped from their Party, the PDP, to the ruling APC, Senator Omo-Agege had the Delta State APC in the palms of his staunch hands.
Even though he has had several scuffles with the “repentant” civil rights advocate and the present Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, his firm grip of and consistent grit in navigating the murky waters of Delta State politics undoubtedly threw him above any other as the clear leader of APC in Delta State.
The former Deputy Senate President has truly held forth for his party as an opposition force, ensuring that the APC was not swept aside by the PDP over the years. But this was not for free. Politics is a game of interest and self-preservation.
Senator Omo-Agege has an undying ambition to become the Governor of his oil-rich State of Delta, and he’s ever ready to guard and guide this desire jealously amidst all odds. It is against this backdrop that one can understand the ongoing trepidation in his camp and the opaque understanding of his next move, despite the public display of calmness, with the potentially deceptive optics of smiles, as it were.
Those who know him attest to his robust pedigree of political generosity and tutelage, which has helped him in supporting and raising loyal supporters across the state, especially in his immediate constituency. This has drawn the ire of Festus Keyamo, who himself is nursing a gubernatorial ambition, the reason they’re always at loggerheads with one another.
This could be the reason the Aviation Minister was always very emphatic on who the new Party leader is in Delta State (the person of Governor Oborevwori) even before Vice-President Shettima cleared the air on the matter in the first few days of their sojourn in APC, and not Senator Omo-Agege as may be “wrongly assumed” by unsuspecting public, in the new scheme of things.
The battle may be too fierce for Omo-Agege to fight within his hitherto old and familiar den. If he eventually becomes a predator to Keyamo and his ambition, he may also become a victim of Governor Oborevwori and his focused ambition of actualising a second term in office, given the advantage of the constitutional backing that makes him the state Party leader and the mighty political armoury of the new APC behind him.
As it is even now, the State APC party structure is still in the firm grip of Omo-Agege, perhaps until the Party conducts the next Local Government and Ward elections. This underscores the possibility of a fierce battle or an implosion that may likely occur when any caucus forcefully attempts to wrestle this structure from him in due course.
While one can almost predictably say that the former Deputy Senate President of the 9th Senate may not survive with his ambition for long in the APC in the build-up to 2027, given the hard odds against him, he is, however, not without an option. One of the options is to humbly accept and surrender his die-hard ambition of becoming the next governor of the state under the APC, while negotiating a comeback to the Senate to remain politically relevant, after brokering a thorough understanding with the Party’s top echelon.
Or else, the sorcerer’s choice remains vacant; the quiet return to the PDP to rebuild it and capture the ticket in readiness for 2027. With all the Delta State’s political bigwigs jostling for space in APC, Senator Omo-Agege can consider teaming up with former governor James Ibori, who has an axe to grind with Okowa and Oborevwori over their refusal to allow his choice of his godson, David Edebvie, to succeed Okowa.
Two years is a short time in politics. But it is equally a long time for Senator Omo-Agege to work assiduously to upset the applecart, using the platform of the opposition PDP for the onslaught. The Lion must not be caged in his very den.
