A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. John Halims 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.
