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CRISIS IN DELTA APC WAS STARTED BY SOME PEOPLE IN PRESIDENCY, WHOM I WILL EXPOSE’ – SENATOR NWAOBOSHI
Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta and a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, has accused some individuals in the Presidency of frustrating the former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.
Nwaoboshi, popularly known as Oracle, claimed in an interview that the individuals had conspired to ensure Omo-Agege receives nothing from the current government.
The APC chieftain said he had earlier advised Omo-Agege against contesting the 2023 governorship election against the incumbent, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, stressing that it is often difficult to defeat a sitting governor.
He disclosed that Omo-Agege had confided in him over his concerns, which he later discussed with Oborevwori, urging the governor to address the issues raised by the former DSP.
Nwaoboshi recently visited Governor Oborevwori at the Government House, Asaba, describing his entry into the APC as a “game-changer.”
When asked about his stance, given that Omo-Agege is eyeing the 2027 ticket, Nwaoboshi insisted that Oborevwori’s alignment with the APC would reshape the political dynamics in Delta State.
He said, “Omo-Agege, to the best of my knowledge, is not running for the governorship under the platform of APC in 2027. I have advised him as a senior brother and someone older than him in the game of politics. I have told him he cannot run if he remains in the APC and the governor remains in the APC. He cannot win the party’s primary, and it will be difficult for him to win the election. I have had private meetings with him and apprised him of my position.
When Chief James Ibori was governor, he ran for a second term; nobody challenged him in the primary. When Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan ran for a second term, no aspirant challenged him, and when Senator Ifeanyi Okowa ran for a second term, nobody challenged him. I am talking about the party primary. It is difficult for him to change the system when a sitting governor is running for a second term. I have advised him, and I don’t think so based on my personal meeting with him, our former governor, Ibori, and other leaders.”
Speaking on Omo-Agege contemplating to contest for governorship, the lawmaker said, “That he is contemplating running against the governor, anybody who is telling you that is not telling you the truth. However, I may not know if he changed his mind yesterday or two days ago. I also know what he is thinking about, and I have had the privilege of discussing it with the governor.
“I told him that we need peace. He is the father of the whole state; he should bring everybody together, and he has promised me that. I don’t think Omo-Agege, in his heart, unless he changed his mind two days ago. I have not spoken to him in the last two or three weeks. Unless he changed his mind. I don’t think, and I don’t want him to be blackmailed based on my discussion with him, for people to say that he is fighting the governor.
“I don’t want that. His only concern, which he informed me on a few occasions, is that he needs to be recognised and accorded due respect as a former leader of the party in the state. You remember when people were challenging him then, and I said Omo-Agege is the leader of the party in the state. I challenged them to a debate because I have been around. He is a former Deputy Senate President. I remember when the former president, the late Muhammadu Buhari, brought Festus Keyamo (current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development).
“Festus Keyamo was in his office, but he came there daily. Of the two senators that APC had at the time, Omo-Agege contributed over 80 per cent to their being senators. He made them the party’s candidates. I said no, he is the leader of the party, but now, a governor has come in, and the governor becomes the leader.
“There is a need for them to have interaction, and that has been my position. That is what I tell Omo-Agege, and that is what I informed the governor. Let us work together in peace.”
Senator Nwaoboshi, who accused some people in the presidency of causing a crisis in the state party’s structure, said, “The problems, or what you would define as a crisis in the Delta APC before the governor came in, were caused by some people in the Presidency. The APC in Delta State was a united family until after the president won the election. There was no contest as to who was the leader of the party. It was some persons in the Presidency for personal reasons, whom I am ready to expose.”
