Chief Joe Omene Slams Dafinone, Urges Urhobo To Support Omo-Agege For Senate

Chief Joe Omene, a prominent Urhobo leader and former President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Worldwide, has criticised Senator Ede Dafinone over what he described as a lack of tangible federal projects in Urhobo land, urging the people to support former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, for the Senate.

Omene made the remarks during an interview with journalists while explaining the circumstances surrounding the circulation of an old video in which he expressed support for Omo-Agege based on his assessment of the former deputy Senate president’s performance.

He said the video, which resurfaced on social media, was recorded about four years ago when Omo-Agege was contesting the Delta State governorship election against Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

According to Omene, he was surprised that the video had resurfaced and subsequently investigated to establish who had posted it.

He alleged that an aide to Dafinone was responsible for circulating the video, adding that he contacted the aide and asked him to take it down.

Omene said he also drew the aide’s attention to an interview he had granted about three weeks earlier, in which he had spoken about the political situation and the senatorial candidates.

He, however, expressed displeasure that the video was still being promoted on social media, particularly Facebook, at the time of the interview.

Explaining his position, Omene described Omo-Agege as a performer who had attracted federal projects to Urhobo communities, while alleging that Dafinone had not delivered comparable benefits to the people.

“The truth is that what I said about Omo-Agege at that time, I would still say it today. Between Omo-Agege and Senator Ede Dafinone, who should Urhobo support? One is a performer; the other one is a non-performer,” he said.

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Omene acknowledged that Omo-Agege had attracted several federal projects to Urhobo land but faulted him for allegedly concentrating the projects in Orhuwhorun rather than spreading them across other Urhobo communities.

He argued that elected representatives should ensure that the benefits of federal representation reach a wider section of their constituents.

The Urhobo leader also questioned Dafinone’s record in attracting federal projects and institutions to the area, insisting that the senator needed to demonstrate greater impact through tangible development initiatives.

“Give him not just another four years, give him another 20 years. He will still not be able to do anything,” Omene said, referring to Dafinone.

He further cited the poor condition of the East-West Road, claiming that the issue had been raised on the floor of the Senate by Adams Oshiomhole, a senator representing Edo State.

Omene questioned Dafinone’s response to the road’s condition, lamenting that travelling between Warri and Benin could take more than eight hours.

He said the situation highlighted the need for elected representatives to speak up on challenges affecting their constituents and pursue solutions through the appropriate channels.

Omene also used Sapele, Dafinone’s hometown, to illustrate what he believed should constitute meaningful senatorial representation.

He argued that attracting a federal institution, industrial projects or initiatives to revive the Sapele Port would have given residents tangible reasons to assess the senator’s performance positively.

“If Senator Ede Dafinone were able to bring a polytechnic, a federal institution, to Sapele, which is his hometown, or if he were able to bring an institution or even open up our port, the Sapele Port, people would not blame him,” he said.

Omene maintained that the ability to attract development projects should be a major consideration in assessing political representatives.

His comments amount to an endorsement of Omo-Agege’s record over Dafinone’s, as political discussions continue over representation and development in Urhobo land.

The claims about the senators’ respective records and the circumstances surrounding the video’s circulation reflect Omene’s account and were not independently verified by Oasis Magazine for this report.