The political theatrics that trailed the recently concluded Delta Central APC Senatorial Primaries have been an astonishing and embarrassing dimension following the contradictory actions of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who publicly declared himself the winner of the exercise, yet hurriedly rushed to file an appeal before the Senatorial Appeal Committee sitting in Asaba. This became laughable, especially when the rightful winner of the primaries, Senator Ede Dafinone, was duly announced by the officials of the APC sent from Abuja to conduct the elections. This development has exposed what many political stakeholders in Delta State term a paradoxical fiasco, and a desperate anathema concocted in political double ground standing and an unfortunate show of shame unbecoming of a statesman of Omo-Agege’s standing.
Ordinarily, a candidate who genuinely believes he won a primary election would have no reason to challenge the same process before an appeal panel. Victory and protest cannot logically coexist. One cannot celebrate triumph in the marketplace while secretly rushing to the courtroom to dispute the same outcome. Such contradictory conduct only raises fundamental questions about credibility, sincerity, and political honesty.
The actions taken by Senator Omo-Agege and his ilk clearly suggests an internal acknowledgment that the outcome of the primaries did not favor him as loudly as his public relations machinery attempted to portray. If indeed he decisively won the primaries as claimed by his supporters, why the panic appeal? Why the hurried move to Asaba? Why seek redress from an appeal committee over a process already declared victorious by him and his camp?
These inconsistencies have further reinforced growing public perception that the former Deputy Senate President and his loyalists were merely engaged in psychological propaganda aimed at confusing party members and distorting public opinion.
In politics, perception matters, but consistency matters even more.
The APC faithfuls across Delta Central are politically sophisticated enough to understand when desperation begins to overshadow strategy. This shameful contradictory conduct displayed after the primaries has unfortunately diminished the moral weight of Omo-Agege’s claims and has projected an image of forgery and fake news peddlers within his camp.
More troubling is the dangerous precedent such behavior creates within party politics in Nigeria.
Political contests are built on transparency, discipline, and respect for due process. Political leaders are expected to either confidently defend their victory or responsibly challenge irregularities. You do not attempt both simultaneously in a manner that insults the credibility of party process and its activities. Senator Omo-Agege should withdraw the fake self victory declaration put out there in media and apologize to the All Progressive Congress hierarchy and her members nationwide.
These shahanigans from the Omo-Agege camp clearly underscore the reason many stakeholders within Delta Central APC increasingly gravitated their supports toward the calm, issue-based, and development-focused leadership style of Senator Ede Dafinone during the primaries. While the few supporters of Ovie Omo-Agege engaged in media theatrics and conflicting narratives, Senator Dafinone team remained focused on his legislative performance, constituency projects, accessibility, and grassroots engagement.
The unfolding contradiction from the Omo-Agege camp is not merely a political miscalculation; it is an avoidable public embarrassment that has weakened the integrity of their post-electiom narrative. A true winner does not appeal against his own victory. The people of Delta Central deserve politics anchored on maturity, coherence, truthfulness, and democratic responsibility rather than conflicting declarations that reduce a serious electoral process into a theatre of confusion and ridicule.
History will remember this episode as one of the most ironic moments in Delta Central politics, where a candidate loudly proclaiming victory with one hand while quietly filing complaints with the other. At best, this can be described as a shameful conduct not beffitting of a once towering political figure in national politics. How are the mighty fallen. Desperate times truly prompt desperate measures.
Dr. N.M Darigho Odedede is a development communicator who writes from Abraka, Ethiope East LGA, Delta State
