Senator Omo-Agege’s Praise Singers: Matters Arising

Recently, the music playing from the background as the journey to the 2023 begins must be analyzed and x-rayed so that the readers can understand the tempo of the journey. As the journey is finding its way, it is understandable that many praise singers will appear on the horizon. One of such is Mr. Victor Esivwenoja Onoge. In his article titled, ‘’2023: OKPE, SAPELE AND UVWIE GOVERNORSHIP RACE, SENATOR OVIE OMO AGEGE THE BEST CHOICE’’ appears to me as a piece that was poorly written. Poorly written in the sense that the writer did not attach any tangible evidence to prove a point. Nevertheless, before I go further, the author, has every constitutional right to support anyone he feels, much more Senator Omo Agege appointed him as one of his political aides without portfolio. For this, the author has not breached the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with his veiled write up. Also, I want to let the readers know that I have nothing against the Deputy Senate President and as such he appears to be the best senator Delta Central ever had since 1999 to date if only on the point of the Federal Polytechnic he brought to Orogun, his father’s home town. Also, for years, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun has been graduating students but unknown to them the school has no legal backing until Omo Agege arrived at the senate, sponsored a bill and President Buhari assented to it and these saved many of the school certificate holders from going to jail for presenting certificates from an unrecognized institution.

However, in his write up, Victor Esivwenoja Onoge, went memory lane to convince us that Ovie Omo Agege is paternally from Okpe Kingdom. He went further thus, ‘’For the records, he (Senator Ovie Omo Agege) is an Okpe man through his paternal lineage. His grandmother (Paternal) is from Aghalokpe community Okpe LGA of the state. Particularly from the Onokpayunu family (Ohwarohwa community) of Aghalokpe. The grandmother’s house is still there at Adaoro Aghalokpe off Otorevwe quarters. I wish to put to the awareness of those saying he is an Orogun man to be on the know and please note that to every human there is a paternal and maternal home. Judging from his giant strides so far representing the good people of Delta Central in the red Chambers, with evident dividends of democracy, we the OKPES will benefit greatly from our brother (Agege) as we support him to win and sworn in. He is a man who loves the Okpe people as he loves others and sees Okpe as his home. The road project linking Amukpe Roundabout to Abraka is a great testimony of his love for Okpe. Starting from Amukpe roundabout: Eko, Ibadan-Amukpe, Egbeku, Sajere town, Onanemu town, Ovwori Okpe one n two, Ejeba Okpe, Arhagba Okpe, Aghalokpe etc are testifying the road tarred as influenced by our gallant and Super Sonic Senator’’.

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These are some of the reasons given by Esivwenoja that warrants his call on the Okpe people probably to vote for Senator Ovie Omo Agege.
While I will not waste my energy in tracing whether Omo Agege hails partly from Okpe, people like Esivwenoja Victor should do their home work before coming out to speak to persons that know history. I have been to Aghalokpe and there is nothing to show that a deputy senate president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is from that community. The only road in that community was the one leading to Ajaguoyibo community. The only Secondary School in the town is St. Peter Claver College which has been in existence for ages. A visit to Orogun axis shows that a personality hails from the place because one can see uncommon road networks and other infrastructural development compared to Aghalokpe. Today, it is not wrong to say that there is nothing to show that Aghalokpe is a town other than grown up bushes. If this is what Esivwenoja is clapping for the senator then it is the case of a blind man clapping for a president of a country for coming up with a law to jail any blind man seen on the road. I am not jealous of the developmental strides recorded by Omo Agege with reference to the development of Orogun, his home community rather I commend him for bringing life to the area. The recent linkage of Omo Agege with the Federal Road of Amukpe to Abraka did not fly. It is just like commending Senator Oluremi Tinubu on the federal road from Lagos to Ibadan that is being reconstructed by the federal government. Probably Esivwonoja has to go through his dictionary to learn the meaning of development in a community since all his theories have failed to yield any result.

By my calculation, you listed ninety eight projects completed and scattered all over Delta Central senatorial zone by your pay master. For the avoidance of doubts, Delta Central has eight local government areas namely, Okpe, Sapele, Udu, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Ethiope East, Ethiope West and Uvwie respectively. Mathematically, if eight local governments should divide ninety eight projects, (98/8), each local government will have 12.25 projects. This shows that Okpe and Sapele local government which is Okpe Kingdom will have 24.5 projects. From the list displayed by the writer, the alleged projects in Okpe Kingdom are numbers 63,90,91,93,94,95 and 97 indicating that the two local government were allocated seven projects instead of 24.5. Continuing with the calculation:
Projects Supposed Come to Okpe Kingdom 24.5
Alleged cited projects ( 7.0)
Deficit 17.7

The question the writer and his like minds should answer is, where are the 17.7 projects cited or located? The earlier he points at these the better. These excludes the Federal Polytechnic which ought to have been cited at Sapele Technical College but nothing happened. This does not mean that I am blaming Senator Omo Agege for citing the Polytechnic at Orogun because I will do likewise if the opportunity falls on my domain.

While I wish Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo Agege good luck in his gubernatorial race, he should go for the governorship race if he has surplus fund to waste because from the statistics on ground throughout the state which he is abreast of, it will be easier for an entire football pitch to pass through the eye of a needle than for Omo Agege to win delta state governorship election. The possibility of manna, falling from ‘heaven’ to crown Omo Agege as the governor of Delta State in 2023 is not feasible. Best still, he can believe on fake ‘’pastors’’ who have been predicting presidential winners for 2023 yet could not predict mere Covid-19 that is ravaging the universe. When one of such pastor saw Chief Fani Kayode in his church, he went into jamboree prayers after which he said that he just saw a vision and Fani Kayode will be president in 2023. Without being told, Kayode jumped up like a sleeping lion that wants to feed on a prey and I am still waiting how Fani Kayode can win the presidency come 2023. Another one just prophesy that an easterner that was just released from prison will be president in 2023 referring to Orji Kalu, a senator and former governor of Abia State. However, before the pastor could walk off his sermon, Kalu said that he does not believe in prophecy. Many prophets were of the view that Donald Trump will win the election in United States but they have since withdrawn probably planning for 2024.

Delta State has been in the pocket of the Peoples Democratic Party since 1999 and what will change that position is not on the drawing board for now. Since 1999, all the councilors (20×25) are all members of the Peoples Democratic Party. The state has twenty five local government area and since then unless in 1999 when about two belonged to All Nigeria Peoples Party, the rest till date were occupied by the reigning party. The governor since then has not changed even most of the National Assembly and state legislators were by the party. The March 6 local government election conducted this year 2021 was won by the party. With all these and other board members too numerous to name, the All Progressive Congress and Ovie Omo Agege cannot dream of government house Asaba and if they dream at all, it is because there is no law against dreaming. Omo Agege is in the senate because of the failure of the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party to bring together Chief Ighoyota Amori and Evelyn Oboro after she defeated Amori in the party’s senatorial primary in Sapele. Till date, the enmity between Amori and Oboro is getting wider by the day like that of Omo Agege and Ogboru. Even if Omo Agege gets the party ticket, Ogboru supporters will support a candidate of Peoples Democratic Party than vote for Omo Agege. Omo Agege recent settlement with Emerho was a mere charade as Emerho supporters knows that it was all chameleon style and will never be supported by them. From this presentation, it is now left for Ovie Omo Agege to heed the counsel of wisdom because it was Okwokwon in Things Fall Apart that said, ‘’I don’t fight the fight of blame’’.

Joseph Esivwenughwu, is a Chartered Accountant and Chief Coordinator, Okpe Governorship Mandate 2023.