A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Fegor Ogene, has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain the legal and documentary basis for listing Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Delta Central Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.
Ogene, in an open letter to the INEC chairman, demanded clarification on Omo-Agege’s reported resignation from the APC, his participation in the party’s senatorial primary, his subsequent movement to the NDC and the membership register used to process his nomination.
He said the issues required clear answers in the interest of electoral transparency, particularly following the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026, judgment restoring provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures.
The APC chieftain stressed that his request was not a demand for Omo-Agege’s disqualification, insisting that the central issue was whether INEC properly examined the relevant records and applied the law consistently before publishing the candidates’ list.
“The Supreme Court did not specifically name Senator Omo-Agege and order his disqualification. However, neither did the judgment automatically validate every nomination submitted to the Commission,” Ogene stated in the letter.
He urged INEC to establish the correct sequence of events surrounding Omo-Agege’s departure from the APC and his emergence as the NDC candidate.
Ogene pointed to conflicting reports about the date of Omo-Agege’s resignation from the APC, with May 5 and May 22, 2026, cited in different accounts.
He argued that the discrepancy deserved clarification, particularly because Omo-Agege was reported to have participated in the APC senatorial primary on May 18, 2026, before eventually securing the NDC ticket.
According to him, if the May 5 resignation date was correct, INEC should explain the circumstances of Omo-Agege’s reported participation in the APC primary 13 days later.
He called on the electoral commission to verify the resignation letter, the date it was received by the appropriate APC ward authority and any official record establishing when the resignation took effect.
Ogene also raised questions about Omo-Agege’s reported claim that his name appeared on the NDC membership register submitted to INEC before May 10, 2026.
He urged the commission to confirm whether the former deputy Senate president’s name appeared on the original register, the membership date recorded against it and whether the document satisfied the statutory requirements applicable to the party’s nomination process.
The APC chieftain maintained that the original membership register and supporting documents, rather than political arguments, should determine the facts.
“If his name appeared on the original register, INEC should explain how it assessed that fact against the applicable law. If it did not, the Commission should explain the legal basis on which it accepted his nomination,” he said.
Ogene further questioned the legal implications of a reported waiver granted to Omo-Agege by the NDC, asking INEC to clarify whether it examined the waiver and whether it addressed an internal party requirement or a statutory condition imposed by the Electoral Act.
He cautioned that a party’s decision to accept a candidate and the candidate’s compliance with electoral law were separate matters, adding that a party waiver could not automatically override a mandatory legal requirement.
He therefore asked INEC to explain how it assessed the nomination in light of the Supreme Court judgment and the restored provisions of the Electoral Act.
Ogene also called for clarification on the administrative and legal basis for including Omo-Agege on the final candidates’ list, noting that publication of a candidate’s name did not, by itself, establish that every legal question surrounding the nomination had been conclusively resolved.
He said the commission should provide a factual and reasoned explanation, subject to applicable disclosure requirements, to prevent political arguments from replacing official records.
The APC chieftain maintained that the controversy should not be reduced to a contest between supporters of Omo-Agege and those of the APC candidate, Senator Ede Dafinone.
