Delta State chapter of APC expels controversial Senator Omo-Agege for organising parallel congress

CONTROVERSIAL Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has been expelled from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Delta State chapter of the party after he decided to hold a parallel convention after being de-selected by delegates.

Once suspended for 90 legislative days for insulting the National Assembly by stating that its plans to amend the Electoral Act was a personal attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Omo-Agege is the senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District. In April this year, the senator was also arrested after it was alleged that he brought thugs into the senate to seize the mace to protest his suspension.

Tired of him constantly being in the news for the wrong reasons, the Delta Central Senatorial District of the APC voted against Senator Omo-Agege, opting instead for Otega Emerhor as their candidate in next year's elections. At the congress which held at Ughelli town hall, Mr Emerhor was declared winner of the primaries by returning officer of Solomon Igbiaye, having polled 2,492 votes against four votes for Senator Omo-Agege.

In a swift response though, Senator Omo-Agege organised a parallel congress in Udu, which declared him the winner of the primaries. Incensed with the antics of the senator, the APC has now expelled him and asked the police to arrest him for impersonation and a breach of public peace.

Following an emergency meeting of the APC Delta State Working Committee (SWC) in Asaba by the chapter led by Cyril Abeye Ogodo, Senator Omo-Agege and some of his allies were declared personae non-gratia. In a statement titled Delta APC Expels Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, signed by the party’s legal adviser Dennis Nwanokwai, it said the decision to expel him followed his unabated involvement in anti-party activities.

Their statement read: “The latest of such activities relates to the hijack of primaries panel members and materials sent from the national secretariat to conduct primaries in the state and deploying same to conduct unauthorised parallel primaries. Others are the manipulation and tampering of delegates’ lists and the use of thugs to harass and deprive authentic delegates from access to primaries venues, all that in conjunction with Prophet Jones Erue and others who have earlier been expelled from our party.

“The expulsion of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is with immediate effect. The SWC also resolved to petition the security services, including the Police and Department of State Security to arrest and prosecute Senator Omo-Agege, Prophet Jones Erue and others for impersonation and others actions calculated to breach public peace.”