INTRO
ASABA: An article by an indisputable prolific pen pusher, subjecting the APC Stakeholders’ meeting called at the banquet hall of the Delta State government house on Sunday 12th of October 2025, to scandalously dubious scrutiny, got me thinking and wondering.
Every angle to that “sabre rattling” was wrong. I had to subject my methodology of responding to some evaluation, to decide which approach would best suit the decision to join issues with the writer, who was two years my junior in the secondary school. That fact has warranted that I refrain from mentioning his name, out of Alma Mata respect.
It was Abraham Lincoln who was chided by tabloid journalists in his days that he changed his mind on an issue, and he retorted thus, “that is because I am wiser today than I was yesterday”.
When you make decisions, especially political decisions, and it turns out that you are on the wrong side of unfolding happenings, wise persons would keep mute, recoil and strategise.
Another wise decision would be to join hands with the winner, and move forward. But the pighead would resort to unending criticisms, condemnations, fabrications, doing everything to rubbish and possibly bring down. Why that is so for this writer is not quite clear, despite entreaties to see his twilight years close by. At the age we are now, we should be conscious of fading away into the darkness, with some modicum of honour and respectability.
In the article dripping with untruths, hate, outright lies, fabrications, hack intent, slander, etc, I found my anger at various points, rising like a column of mercury. It is not still clear to me whether my old school mate is a card carrying member of any political party. But his disdain for certain persons is so thick that he transfers his aggression to anybody or anything this his perceived enemy is associated with. Where is the maturity for a man approaching 70, if he is not already there.
I was a member of APC before Obarisi Ovie Omo Agege joined. So I am in a very good position to respond to this man’s diatribe. I was with the founding leader of APC in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor when the duo of Chief Great Ogboru and Senator Ovie Omo Agege came over from Labour Party in 2016.
I was the last state publicity secretary (factional though, under Chief Cyril Ogodo, the state chairman then, duly sworn in by Chief Odigie Oyegun, the National Chairman of APC tthen). It was Olorogun O’tega who took the duo to Abuja to present to the National Working Committee.
Oyegun was soon displaced by Adams Oshiomole as National Chairman and the later bluntly refused to relate with Cyril Ogodo, in his characteristic brashness. The reason is not unconnected with the support he got from the state, as he traversed the country to seek support to replace Oyegun.
Once in, Omo Agege parted ways with Ogboru. Next, he refused to allow the rag tag, ricketty, paper-weight party members he came with, to fuse into the existing party structure across all 25 local government areas and wards of the state. He didn’t have the numbers. Clever move by him, from hindsight now. Oshiomole found a willing ally in Omo Agege to undo O’tega and Ogodo. The details are outside the scope of this lengthy piece. Omo Agege just planted on or two persons in each LGA and instructed them to just go out and enlist persons, just anybody as party members.
In my Ika North East LGA for instance, O’tega’s points man was Hon. Sonny Onyejose. But before we could say Jack Robinson, another person surfaced. Parallel structures emerged. Across all twenty five LGAs of Delta State, they are still there till date, along with their ward structures, different from what we had in place. They became the soul of the party, reporting to Orogun, away from Evreni that we knew from the demise of Sen. Pius Ewerido. The real builders of the party were left gnashing our teeth outside. It was so painful. It was at that point I decided that I had to leave, to team up with the greatest governor of our time then, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, in the then PDP. I dare say today, that if there is to be proper justice and reconciliation done in APC, the party structure on ground under O’tega has to be restituted.
THE REBUTTALS
With this background story, let’s take on bits and pieces of the “odoriferous saga” of our friend (apologies to Hon. Obahiagbon 😇). We will tease it out paragraph by paragraph, line by line, precept by precept. That is my decided methodology, to do justice to this thinly disguised public relations misadventure for a monumental investment nightmare.
From the very first paragraph, our friend wrote, “The chatter in the banquet hall of the Government House Asaba was muffled and subdued…”
Response: How could he have known that; he was not there and couldn’t have been there anyway. The ambience around the banquet hall was that of a “banquet” indeed, very lively and animated. Everybody considered high up in APC in Delta State was there, except the ordained loser.
Our man went further to say that “the man in the blue George wrapper and the big blue lace shirt with a blue fedora…” was overheard to say,“Na Omo-Agege bring us come here. The man nor gree talk make everybody know where im stand”.
Response: Was his spy so close, that could have leaked this obviously concocted jab? Of all the dignitaries around His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oboreiweri, who could have been this leech?
Next, our man said, “The meeting in Government House Asaba on Sunday was driven by fear, exclusion and anxiety over one man’s silence…”
Response: Even when this writer saw the roll call of attendees, he could still muster the courage to ooze lies? There must be acute paranoia at play. Who among the roll call can Omo Agege call to a meeting of any description in Delta, today?
Next he wrote, “The talk in the hall was that the silence of Omo-Agege is defining the governorship elections of 2027 in Delta State. Nobody can be sure of the political direction of the state until Omo-Agege makes his stand known…”
Response: This is the most disappointing statement of this veteran journalist’s vituperations. The talk in that hall was that Omo Agege was finished politically. And nothing and nobody will salvage him.
“…Nobody can also tell the stand of the presidency or National Working Committee of the APC on Delta state governorship primary…”
Response: A baby journalist can be forgiven here, but what do you make of a hitherto respected tabloid “general”, goofing in such an elementary manner? Is Omo Agege in any reckoning anymore? If so, where? And on what basis will the presidency, National Chairman of APC or it’s Nat’l Working Committee be fratenising with Omo Agege? As DSP or what?
“And his restiveness over the matter is the reason why such a meeting was called for self promotion and self assurance…”
Response: “Restiveness”? No naa. Nyesome Wike once said, “there is no small governor…” Not to talk of our stocky, street wise, bone crusher, that is growing in confidence with each passing day, since 2023. Those invited were considered on their merit and were too happy to have participated in that epoch making event.
“His Restiveness gives away his lack of confidence…he remains a stranger in the party…”
Response: A governor who has the state chairman of the party at his beck and call, the highly cerebral and “very smart” immediate past governor, who has the founding leader of the party (Olorogun O’tega Emerhor) and all those top dignitaries in attendance, and in a meeting convened to show strength, showcase party unity/cohesion, is despised as trivial? There must be something terrible wrong with our friend’s sense of evaluation. That meeting two weeks ago was a lion’s roar.
“…the fear of Omo-Agege hangs over the party, invincible yet with a heavy and pervading presence like Arabian incense…”
Response: What is all this English intended to portray? That what is not, is what is? Which Omo Agege is this our man talking about? Is it not Augustine Ovie Omo Agege? The former DSP? That man is of no consequence , no significance and no relevance anymore in APC politics in Delta State.
“…Sheriff is not improving the party’s popularity in the state; in fact, the numbers keep plummeting. So the man has a genuine reason to fear the invincible hand of Omo-Agege as the cause of his declining popularity, even as a sitting governor”.
Response: Haba. What manner of journalism is this? When has fabrication of facts become so brazen, even on a turf that is so familiar to the readers? Omo Agege came in APC in 2016, by 2018, he had taken over the structure of the party in a commando style, locking out all other leaders he met on ground and those that came with him, namely keyamo, Dr. Cairo, Victor Ochei, Alex Ideh, Ogboru, etc. And he came with barely 10% of the population already in APC.
Was it a surprise he won in only four of the twenty five local governments in Delta State in 2023? He was trounced silly by this same Sheriff. Omo Agege didn’t have the numbers then. What he had has vaporised in dramatic manner.”…The reason for engineering the defection of governors into APC is so that the defecting governors will use their offices to win elections for Tinubu in their states, but they have a weak link in Delta – a governor who can offer no such guarantees…”
Response: Ah ah, is this writer not jaundiced? Oboreiweri “a weak link”? Omo Agege will be given strokes of the cane by Sheriff like a headmaster to an interloping smart alec.
“…Sheriff cannot improve the electoral fortunes of Tinubu in Delta State and definitely won’t have the organizational capacity to win the election…”
Response: What manner of hack writer could throw caution to the wind and spew arrant nonsense? Some one who scored 21 over 25 is upbraided as lacking organisational capacity against an arrogant pimp who scored 4 over 25? Of course, only filthy lucre or biting hatred will bring this kind of thinking about.
Like Ex governor Okowa said in that same arena, “it is not in any doubt that the President will win here in Delta State but it is the magnitude of votes that should preoccupy us. And Gov Sheriff is the Joker for turning in massive numbers for the President”, before himself.
“In the 2023 election in Delta State, it was the governorship candidate Omo-Agege who was popularizing Bola Tinubu”.
Response: “This is the giveaway hint that the writer was commissioned to do a PR job for Omo Agege, with subplot to “drench a village latrine with a copious supply of Indian fragrance”. But it has turned out to be a terribly bad commission on both sides.
The product is a terribly bad one and the messenger a notoriously offensive hack writer known to sell opposing products, for transactions. Omo Agege never supported Tinubu until after the later emerged as the presidential candidate of his party. And the presidency has never lost sight of that.
“Tinubu is encouraging defection because he needs the governors to be on his side to help win elections in their states. He needs their popularity…”
Response: It is the other way round. It is the governors that need Tinubu now. Tinubu’s insistence in ramming down certain hard reforms is what has endeared him to many Nigerians, except the Fulani.
Tinubu has earned his second term. Governors are falling over themselves to scamper into his moving coach. Sheriff is the first governor to move an entire state structure to the embrace of the president.
Will Tinubu lose sight of that in a hurry? Secondly, people thought, way back in April, that Sheriff and Okowa were running from “sins” by defecting to the ruling party. Two days after the defection, Wike called them “smart politicians”. What they saw then, is what many are seeing today and scampering to jump out of the PDP rapidly sinking “titanic”.
“..Sheriff is just bandying Tinubu’s name to win the support of APC members in Delta State, to give the impression that he is loyal to Tinubu and is on one-on-one terms with him”.
Response: Sheriff came into APC Delta State with an intimidating army, in quantity and in quality. He does not have to struggle to win support of APC members. The state chairman of APC saw it early and aligned with “the new sheriff in town”. The vice president of the country who was in Stephen Keshi Township stadium to receive the crowd, called it a tsunami. Have these bad belle people forgotten so soon?
“It is also not true that the national hierarchy of the party has given Sheriff total control of the Delta APC”.
Response: There are a few comments bandied by this man that made me decide several times not to join issues, because of the crass naivity, outright lies or deliberate distortion of facts. The APC party constitution puts total control of the party in the state, in the hands of the governor. So what is this man up to? Justify his pittance?
“Part of the reason the people of the state don’t like Sheriff is that they see him as part of the old guard. He is too attached to the Okowa coterie…”
Response: This is the other reason why this man gleefully jumped at this worthless image laundering job for a destined loser. He does not like Okowa. He used to make Okowa his whipping toy, until he was told to shut up.
Both Sen. Dr. Okowa and the hack writer are from the same federal constituency. They are age mates, grew up together and so, know themselves very well. But when your mate has beaten you so silly in life, that you cannot cover the gap, do you resort to endless belly aching and mudslinging?
Take it or leave, Sheriff is the governor of our state today and he will be unchallenged in the run-up to the congresses leading the elections in 2027. He is in power. He has paid his dues by winning 2023 election and surviving 38 court cases.
There should be criticisms, for enlightenment and for improved service delivery. But taking a job that has no earthly chance of succeeding, with all the odds against it, just for the lucre and to cause irritation in some quarters is not the way to trade age.
“So the Sobotie/Sheriff faction are actually hoping that Omo-Agege leaves the party, allowing them to benefit from his frustration”.
Response: It is interesting that the name of the state chairman of APC, Sobotie, is brought up here. This is the man forced on the party by Omo Agege, who is from the same senatorial zone as him (an offence of the highest order in politics). Sobotie, a seasoned politician, knew instantly in April this year, that the governor coming into APC, and with the show of strength he did, meant a death knell to his erstwhile leader. He brooked no time in realigning
“…Omo-Agege’s silence has left them perplexed and in a political quandary. No one has been able to read the man’s mind for 2027. But they know that Omo-Agege still commands a large population of loyal voters in the state…”
Response: No one is losing sleep over Omo Agege. Politically, he is “as dead as dodo”, like we use to say. Even if he begs to be allowed to go back to the senate, Sheriff, yes this same Sheriff this writer has tried to vilify and belittle, will not oblige him. Sheriff and Okowa are bent on thrashing this extremely lucky but spoilt brat with strokes of the cane.
Hear, what the governor said on that day, “Some in power today didn’t work for the APC, but we know them. When the time comes, we will expose them. This time, loyalty will be rewarded, not hypocrisy.” The senate seat for Delta Central now belongs to those who built the party before Omo Agege came begging to be allowed to join the party in 2016.
Take this to the bank, Sheriff will not negotiate his candidacy with anyone. He is a sole candidate for the party in the state. It is Omo Agege that will seek to negotiate a soft landing and a face saving return to the senate. But the door has been shut against him.
MY PARTING SHOT
When a hitherto respected journalist persistently and consistently continues to spew jibberish nonsense in the twilight years of his life, you cannot but have palpable pity for him.
It is a sad commentary for such a literary genius to diminish himself so badly, as he inevitably exits the stage. Na fly wen no hear word dey follow dead body enter grave. It is sad for the writer under reference to be caught in such metaphor, at this departure lounge of life.
Iwemdi Nwaham writes from the Asaba.
