By Eseoghene Emuke
The leader of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor on Wednesday said Senator Ovie Omo-Agege representing Delta Central at the Senate was not re-elected in the 2019 general election as he was not the candidate of the party for the elections.
A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, had on Monday, sacked the Jones Erue-led state APC executive from which faction Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief Great Ogboru emerged as candidate of the APC for the last elections.
Justice Toyin Adegoke, who delivered the judgement, however, restored Chief Cyril Ogodo-led faction of the party as the authentic chairman of the APC in Delta, declaring that any action taken by the sacked Erue—led faction was in nullity.
Emerhor, in a statement while reacting to the judgement, said he was the only candidate of the APC in Delta Central, adding that Omo-Agege was at no point a candidate of the party.
The APC leader said, “Omo-Agege was at no time the candidate of the party nor was he at any time the Senator-elect.”
He hinted that, “I emerged as the Delta Central senatorial candidate against Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who emerged from the Prophet Jones Erue Exco which the court has now declared illegal. Legally and physically, you can’t build anything on nothing!
“Omo-Agege built his candidature on nothing and it has given way and has collapsed. But this is beyond just me and Omo-Agege. We the mainstream also had a governorship candidate, Prof Pat Utomi, 3 senatorial candidates, 10 house of Rep and 29 house of Assembly candidates! This Court ruling is for all of them! If for anything, it will be on record that they were the authentic candidates not anyone else.”
The APC chieftain stated that the Mainstream Delta APC which he led produced the Ogodo-led executive and accommodates over 70 percent of leaders and members of the party alongside over five governorship aspirants in the state.
Emerhor, who emerged as senatorial candidate for Delta central under the Ogodo-led executive, noted that there was no other APC leadership other than the one that the court has declared.
“The Ogodo-Exco produce by the mainstream has always been the authentic executive. We only had a period when an illegal Exco was foisted on the party. What the court did on its Monday ruling was just to restore the legal Exco into its proper position.
“This case is testing the rule of law and party due process. APC won a number of positions during the general elections. Recall that the Asaba high Court on October 17th 2018, restrained the APC national not to submit any candidates list to INEC and INEC not to accept any candidates list from the APC before the determination of the case. Any list APC went ahead to submit and INEC accepted respectively was in contempt of court order.
“So, legally and in reality, Omo-Agege was at no time the candidate nor was he at any time the Senator-elect. Same for the other positions were APC won in Delta State. Not until the court ruling on Monday when the court authenticated me and others from the Ogodo Exco primaries can anyone legally claim to be the Senator-elect or any other position in Delta APC”, he added.
He further stated that Omo-Agege as a lawyer cannot boast that the ruling has no consequences, stressing that the “so-called consent judgment” they keep building their hope on only dealt with the congress election of wards and LGA Excos and not the primaries of candidates and in any case, was dealt a death blow at their own appeal to the appeal court in Benin and at the Asaba federal high court. Omo-Agege knows I’m now the Senator-elect!”
