I Never Directed Dafinone To Vote Against Akpabio –Omo-Agege

Former Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has denied allegations that he instructed Senator Ede Dafinone to vote against Senator Godswill Akpabio during the 2023 election of principal officers of the 10th Senate.

In a press statement dated November 10, 2026, and signed by his Special Adviser on Strategy and Communications, Godwin Anaughe, Omo-Agege described the allegation as a “cheap and mischievous fabrication” allegedly being promoted by supporters of Dafinone to shift responsibility for his strained relationship with the Senate President.

The statement followed comments by one Ejiro Etaghene on Crown FM and Kpoko FM radio stations, where he allegedly attacked Omo-Agege over the controversy.

Omo-Agege’s office maintained that the former Deputy Senate President openly supported Akpabio in line with the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership at the time.

“Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege never ever commanded Dafinone, or anyone else, to vote against Akpabio. On the contrary, he unequivocally and openly backed Akpabio in line with the leadership of his party then,” the statement said.

According to the statement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had met with the leadership of the National Assembly and the APC at Defence House ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, where Senator Akpabio and Senator Barau Jibrin were endorsed as the party’s candidates for Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

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It added that Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Hon. Benjamin Kalu were also endorsed for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Omo-Agege, who said he participated in the meeting, maintained that he could not have subsequently directed Dafinone to act against a party decision he had helped reach.

The statement further detailed several engagements allegedly held with Dafinone and Senator Joel Onowakpo-Thomas to secure their support for the party’s preferred candidates.

It said Omo-Agege met with the two senators at his Asokoro residence after the Defence House meeting and communicated the party’s position to them, adding that both senators pledged to support Akpabio.

However, the statement alleged that Dafinone continued to attend meetings organised by supporters of Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, who contested the Senate presidency against Akpabio.

It further claimed that Vice-President Kashim Shettima intervened by asking Omo-Agege to advise the two Delta senators to support the party’s position.

Following the intervention, the statement said Omo-Agege again engaged the senators, while Elder Omeni Sobotie, the then Delta State APC Chairman, and Elder Godsday Orubebe, former Director-General of Omo-Agege’s 2023 governorship campaign organisation, also met with them at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, where they reportedly renewed their commitment to vote for Akpabio.

The statement added that Omo-Agege subsequently asked his Senior Special Assistant, Mr Lucky Ajokperiniovo, to arrange another meeting between the two senators and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, where they again reportedly pledged to support Akpabio.

According to the statement, after the election, Senator Onowakpo-Thomas sent a text message to Omo-Agege and Ajokperiniovo stating: “Instructions carried out, Akpabio has won.”

It said Omo-Agege was initially pleased with the outcome and defended the two Delta senators when reports emerged that they had voted against Akpabio, believing they had honoured their commitment to the party.

However, the statement claimed that after evidence allegedly emerged that the senators had voted against Akpabio, Omo-Agege confronted Dafinone, who reportedly admitted voting for Yari.

It quoted Dafinone as saying: “I voted for Yari. On principle, I could not bring myself to vote for Akpabio.”

The statement further disclosed that Omo-Agege later met with Akpabio to explain his role in the events leading to the Senate leadership election. He was accompanied by Engr. Tuoyo Omatsuli, who was said to have witnessed the earlier meeting at Transcorp Hilton Hotel.

It claimed that Omatsuli corroborated Omo-Agege’s account, while text messages were also presented to the Senate President.

Omo-Agege’s office maintained that the former Deputy Senate President neither directed Dafinone nor any other senator to vote against the APC’s preferred candidate, insisting that Dafinone made his decision independently.

The statement argued that Dafinone alone made the decision to oppose the party’s position, insisting that Omo-Agege neither compelled him to do so nor betrayed the party’s trust. It described attempts to shift responsibility for the decision to the former Deputy Senate President as dishonourable.

It further accused Dafinone of betraying the President, his party and his own word, while subsequently blaming Omo-Agege for the outcome. The statement urged Dafinone to demonstrate genuine repentance rather than allegedly attempting to smear the reputation of the former Deputy Senate President, whom it credited with helping him secure his election into the Senate.

The statement challenged Dafinone to personally address the allegation, rather than allowing supporters to speak on his behalf.

“If any of this is a lie, let Dafinone come out himself and say so. Let him look the Urhobo people, Deltans and Nigerians in the eye and say, on record, that he voted for Yari because Omo-Agege told him to do so,” the statement said.

It added that Omo-Agege had since left the APC and moved on politically, urging that he should not be dragged into the internal disagreements of the party he had left.