Delta 2023 and publicity stunt for Omo Agege

Undoubtedly, the opinion article titled “Delta 2023: Challenges of economic development,” written by Dr. Felix O.Okpe, and published on Friday, May 13, 2022 edition of The Guardian, though wrapped in the finest form of prose remains a publicity stunt for the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege. To many, that piece should have, more advisedly and professionally, been titled: 2023:Omo-Agege, the superman with the Midas touch to govern Delta State.
 
Dr. Okpe began by educating his audience that, of the sea of aspirants angling to govern Delta State, Omo-Agege stands out as the most suited for the plumb job, a leader with an unequalled capacity to take the state to her desired promised land. Unarguably a man of letters, the law teacher took some more daring steps in his predetermined mission to nail the Governor Okowa -led administration, as an inept and directionless leadership.

Obviously obsessed with portraying Omo-Agege in the most alluring colours of a superman and God sent, Okpe took a more combative posture in his verbal war against everything PDP to a ridiculous end, stressing, the over 22 years of PDP- led leadership in Delta State has been nothing, but a harvest of pains, anguish and frustration (sic). 

Okpe grossed over the fact that his principal, Omo –Agege, joined the party in 2002 and remained there as a leading member of his (Okpe’s) now ‘messy’, ‘deceptive’ and  ‘corrupt’ PDP, till 2015. He was appointed by Governor Ibori as a Commissioner for Special Duties in 2005. After losing the governorship polls to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, in 2007, the new governor appointed Omo- Agege as Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG).
 
While one does not begrudge Okpe for preferring Omo-Agege as the God anointed messiah for the Delta State’s governorship seat, he was biased in his assessment of Governor Okowa seven-year-old administration. For him to conclude that Governor Okowa’s SMART Agenda has achieved nothing other than pain, is like standing logic on its head. Any unbiased observer of the present administration will attest to its many verifiable executed programmes and projects.

Certainly, Delta State has not reached its promised land, but it has affirmatively begun a steady and forward march towards that envisioned destination. In-coming governments in the state ought to leverage on the feat so far achieved by the present leadership, as governance is a continuum.

By Okpe’s standards, the siting of a Federal Polytechnic in Omo-Agege’s Orogun community is the product of his “robust legislative agenda. Maybe? Make no mistakes, Omo- Agege is an engaging personality, a lawyer of repute with the rare gift of the gab; he has a magnetic personality and any journalist’s delight. He also has a thorough understanding of Nigeria’s unpredictable political terrain and plays the game of politics with his eyes on the ball. He knows when a rare opportunity for a vintage position beckons and goes ahead to grab it with uncommon passion.

However, despite these sterling qualities ascribed to him, Omo-Agege still carries a lot of baggage which will continue to cast doubts on his personality and integrity. First, it is common knowledge that in spite of Omo-Agege’s spirited efforts to exculpate himself from the 2018 Senate’s ‘snatched mace’ saga, that inexplicable incident where he was figured as a face behind the mask (arrowhead), remains an albatross and a moral burden which will continue to hunt him for a long time.

Two, not a few who have keenly watched  Omo-Agege’s political trajectory this far will attest to his being the master of intrigues when it comes to struggle for power. He is also roundly fingered as the arrowhead of the crisis that continues to rock the APC in Delta State, an unpleasant experience, many APC leaders affirm, is fuelled by Omo-Agege’s inordinate ambition to control the party in order to have a smooth sail to his political destination-governorship ticket.

The enigmatic Great Ogboru, fiery human rights activist turned Minister of State for Labour, Festus Kayemo (SAN) and many other APC chieftains – have been helplessly sidelined by the senator’s controlled state executive. Even the recent mass defection of leading APC members to the PDP in the state is a pointer to the reality that all is not well in the APC family.

Our dear friend, Okpe has every right to battle for a change of baton in Delta State in 2023, but to many, Omo-Agege is, in local parlance, a “bad market.” Even our ‘most influential’ senator still has to contend with a more deadly monster- he is a leading member of the ruling APC that has become a national embarrassment due to obvious inept leadership.

How will Omo-Agege stand tall before Deltans to assure and convince them, that he holds the magic wand to shepherd them in the tortuous journey to their earthly eldorado, while his ruling party where he occupies the second-highest legislative seat, has become a symbol of sorrow, tears and blood.  

No doubts, these political ‘excess luggage’ which dogs Omo-Agege’s path, will definitely pose real impediments to his quest to occupy Government House, Asaba.

Nwagboniwe, a media practitioner, wrote from Lagos.