Tension In Delta As Omo-Agege’s Houseboys Escape

The Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC is enmeshed in a fresh crisis over the leadership of the party with former loyalists of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, once mocked as his houseboys trudging away from the shadows of the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate.

The most contemporary demonstration of the expression of independence by the former houseboys of Omo-Agege came when a party delegation comprising senior party executives in Delta State along with the three senators from the state and the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo paid a visit to President Bola Tinubu a week ago.

Not only did Omo-Agege not lead the delegation to the president, he was not even part of the delegation to the president, a development that has brought concern on his onetime supremacy over the affairs of the APC in Delta State.

GWG.ng reports that the concerns are compounded by the fact that the delegation to the president was led by Keyamo, a man who had in the past shown aversion to the authority of Omo-Agege over the party. He had indeed described the outgoing executive of the party reportedly constituted under the aegis of Omo-Agege as houseboys and house girls of the former deputy president of the Senate.

Keyamo had while speaking three years ago to a section of APC leaders aligned with him and against Omo-Agege had disputed the emergence of the  new party executives who were reportedly almost all associates of the then Deputy President of the Senate.

“You can’t carry your houseboys, house girls, and you go one place and say the people have decided in primaries, we say no because those who have decided are your houseboys and house girls,” Keyamo had said at that time following the emergence of the APC executives in Delta State.

However, latest developments indicate that a substantial proportion of those houseboys and house girls appear to have escaped from Omo-Agege’s household with the most prominent being the state party chairman, Elder Omeni Sobotie, one of the most stable singers in the Omo-Agege choir.

Sobotie who recently resumed from medical leave was in the delegation that was led by Keyamo that included the three APC Senators—Senator Ede Dafinone (Delta Central), Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), and Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas (Delta South)—as well as Hon. Francis Waive and Hon. Stella Okotete.

Almost all of them had been inclined to Omo-Agege as leader until recently with many of the so-called houseboys and house girls escaping leaving the political fold of the former deputy president of the Senate.

Omo-Agege who is on Monday, March 3, 2025 ending his statewide tour of the state at Isoko North where he is ending the tour of the 25 local government areas of the state.

A source close to Omo-Agege said he did not see the former houseboy’s snub as such as he was on his part engaged in building up the party after the last election.

The Omo-Agege associate said he saw the visit to President Tinubu as an opportunity to present Senator Ned Nwoko who recently joined the party to the national leader of the party. Given that Omo-Agege was at the time in Delta he did not see anything extraordinary with the exclusion.

GWG.ng reports that when Senator Peter Nwaoboshi defected to the APC in the last dispensation that Omo-Agege who was at that time based in Abuja led the delegation to present him to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I don’t think there is any need to make noise out of who was there or not there,” the Omo-Agege associate told GWG.ng.

However, other party activists were not that considerate as one of them, Sir Divramredje Lawrence Efeturi, while affirming that there was already a division and rebellion by the former Omo-Agege loyalists wrote:

“Traditionally, leadership within a party structure is determined by either the highest-ranking elected official, the party chairman, or, in some cases, a powerful figure who commands a strong grassroots base.

“While Elder Omeni Sobotie remains the official chairman, and the three APC Senators hold elective positions, Omo-Agege’s absence from this meeting cannot be ignored. As the immediate past gubernatorial flagbearer of the party and a former high-ranking principal officer in the National Assembly, Omo-Agege remains a formidable force in Delta APC.”

“If unity was the goal, why was Omo-Agege not part of this latest delegation to the President? Was this a deliberate move to sideline him, or did he choose to stay away? Rather than consolidating efforts to challenge the PDP’s dominance in Delta State, the APC appears more consumed by internal battles for supremacy.”

Another activist, Dr Joseph Tedwins Emudainohwo unflinching in his loyalty and vituperation against the disloyalty of the former houseboys towards Omo-Agege, deposed thus:

“Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s leadership is not a matter of conjecture or personal opinion; it is a constitutional mandate, legitimized by his exemplary service and enshrined within the APC’s constitution. As the immediate past Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate (2019–2023), he holds the distinction of being the highest-ranking political officeholder from Delta State in the APC’s history, a position that carries significant weight and responsibility.

“Article 12.5 of the APC Constitution clearly stipulates that leadership belongs to the highest-ranking political officeholder, past or present. This is not an ambiguous clause open to interpretation; it is a clear directive that must be respected and upheld.”

“It is disheartening to witness a faction of self-proclaimed elites, consumed by envy and personal ambition, attempting to rewrite the APC’s rules to suit their narrow interests. Their assertion that a serving Minister, holding a position inferior to that of a Senator within the party’s hierarchy, should usurp the leadership of the party in Delta State is not only illogical but a flagrant violation of the APC constitution. The APC’s National Caucus has affirmed Senator Omo-Agege’s leadership position, yet these individuals persist in their delusion, defying both the party’s directives and the will of the grassroots.

“Do not let their photo ops with Mr. President bother you – if the several photo ops with the National Chairman yielded their desired result, they would not have upped their photo ops charade to that of posing with Mr. President!”

“While Senator Omo-Agege tirelessly works to consolidate the APC’s gains, these individuals engage in acts of sabotage, prioritizing personal gain over the collective good. History will remember them as the architects of division, the enemies of progress, who undermined the party’s strength for their selfish purposes.”

“To the “collegiate commercial school,” we deliver a resounding message: The APC in Delta will not be hijacked. The APC’s strength in Delta lies in its grassroots. The grassroots reject the politics of greed and embrace the politics of service. Let this serve as notice: the grassroots are awake, aware, and unwavering. No amount of money can shake our resolve. H.E. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR, KSJI, is our leader today, tomorrow, and always.”

Whatever becomes of the escaped former political houseboys and girls, the fact is that the APC in Delta is divided at the top with potential threats to its viability as opposition in Delta State.

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