A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. John Agoda, has dismissed Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s reported ambition to contest the 2027 governorship election in Delta State, insisting that “Delta APC has moved on with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as leader and sole candidate.”
In an interview with The Nation, Agoda declared: “Omo-Agege should have the decency to realize by now that his 2027 ambition is dead and buried. He can shout, he can posture and his supporters can spin, but Delta APC has moved on with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as our sole candidate for 2027.”
The ex-lawmaker, who represented Ethiope Federal Constituency, accused the former Deputy Senate President of “living in self-denial” and recycling a “failed project.”
According to him, Omo-Agege’s loss in 2023 was a clear rejection by Deltans. “If you are rejected once, you don’t force yourself down people’s throats. Delta is not anybody’s inheritance, and he should not see the office of governor as his birthright,” he said.
Agoda stressed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta had united behind Governor Oborevwori following his defection to the party, adding that Vice President Kashim Shettima had already affirmed him as leader of the APC in the state. “Leadership is not grabbed; it is bestowed. And it has been bestowed on Oborevwori,” he noted.
On Omo-Agege’s claims of grassroots appeal, Agoda dismissed them as “laughable.” He argued that real grassroots support belonged to Oborevwori, who, he said, had been embraced across the three senatorial districts. “If Omo-Agege truly had grassroots appeal, why did he lose so clearly in 2023 despite boasting of federal might?” he asked.
The former federal lawmaker also accused Omo-Agege of mismanaging campaign funds during the 2023 elections and undermining fellow APC candidates. “Instead of strengthening the party, those resources were used in ways that sabotaged candidates like me. What kind of leader works against his own party’s candidates?” Agoda queried.
Agoda maintained that the focus of APC in Delta should be consolidation, not division. “Instead of setting fire on his own house because he doesn’t like the curtains, Omo-Agege should rally behind our sitting governor. His insistence on running again is not ambition—it is pride that blinds him to reality.
According to Agoda, “Omo-Agege is living in self-denial. His time has passed. Delta APC has moved on, but he is stuck in yesterday’s shadows clutching at an ambition that Deltans already rejected in 2023. His fresh push to contest the 2027 governorship election is not the rebirth of a political vision. It is the recycling of a failed project that is dead on arrival.
“Instead of rallying behind our sitting governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, who is now the leader of APC, he wants to contest against him. That’s like setting fire on your own house because you don’t like the curtains. It is a voyage to nowhere.
“Omo-Agege had his moment in the Senate. But he already had his shot at the governorship in 2023. Politics is not about recycling ambition like a broken record. If you are rejected once, you don’t force yourself down people’s throats. Delta is not anybody’s inheritance and he should not see the office of the governor as his birthright.
“The recent endorsement of the Governor Oborevwori and President Tinubu was a show of unity of the party in Delta Central where every leader of the party-both old and new-came together in a show of unity and strength. For Omo-Agege to come out and still say he will run is regrettably unfortunate.
“He is telling the party that his ego matters more than our collective survival. For someone who claims to love APC, he’s doing a wonderful job of trying to tear it apart. But I am very confident that he will not succeed.
“I laugh when I hear some people say he has grassroots appeal. Please, let’s call things by their proper names. If Omo-Agege truly had grassroots appeal, why did Deltans reject him so clearly in 2023, even when he was the sitting Deputy Senate President with so-called “federal might”?
“Why did he lose to Oborevwori despite boasting of all his so-called structures”? You cannot fail that spectacularly and still claim to be the darling of the grassroots. That’s like a trader who goes bankrupt claiming to be the wealthiest man in the market. Very laughable.
“His supporters should wake up from their day dreaming. Real grassroots support is organic; it comes from trust, integrity, and sacrifice for the people. The real grassroots now belong to Oborevwori -he is the sitting governor, embraced by every senatorial district and constituency, including my own Ethiope Federal Constituency.
“My message is very clear: APC now controls Delta through Governor Oborevwori. We must consolidate, not tear ourselves apart. Omo-Agege should have the decency to realize by now that his 2027 ambition is dead and buried. He can shout, he can posture and his supporters can spin, but Delta APC has moved on with Gov Sheriff Oborevwori as our sole candidate for 2027 and he should do the same.”
