2027: What did Ovie Omo-Agege forget in the Senate
What exactly did Senator Ovie Omo-Agege forget in the Senate? This question is agitating the minds of many across the Urhobo nation as the 2027 political season gradually takes shape.
- By Ufuoma Egbe
What exactly did Senator Ovie Omo-Agege forget in the Senate? This question is agitating the minds of many across the Urhobo nation as the 2027 political season gradually takes shape. For years, Urhobo’s political progress has been repeatedly disrupted at critical moments.
In many of those moments, Omo-Agege has stood at the centre—often not as a unifier.
In the lead-up to the 2023 general elections, respected Urhobo leaders and stakeholders made earnest appeals to him to return to the Senate, where he had already risen to the enviable position of Deputy President of the Senate.
Their position was not sentimental; it was strategic.
With strong indications that the Senate Presidency would be zoned to the South, Omo-Agege stood a realistic chance of ascending to the number one legislative office in Nigeria.
Yet, in what many consider a display of political overreach and personal ambition, he rejected that path and plunged into a governorship contest that fractured alliances, weakened cohesion, and deepened divisions within the Urhobo political structure.
That decision did not occur in isolation. It was consistent with a pattern. Throughout his tenure as Deputy Senate President, Omo-Agege maintained a distant relationship with key Urhobo institutions.
His engagement with the Urhobo Progress Union was minimal, his connection with the Urhobo Youth leadership was weak, and his rapport with traditional rulers and opinion leaders was, at best, strained.
Rather than build a broad-based political network for the Urhobo nation, he appeared to centralise influence around himself, effectively limiting collective access to the Presidency—unlike other ethnic blocs such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze, and Arewa Consultative Forum, which maintained institutional engagement at the highest level.
As the countdown to 2027 begins, there is growing apprehension that Omo-Agege is once again positioning himself to re-enter the Senate—not out of necessity, but out of habit.
The Urhobo nation must ask: to what end? After eight years in the Senate and having attained the office of Deputy Senate President, what new value does he bring as a returning floor member? Can he realistically achieve from the backbench what he failed to accomplish while occupying one of the most powerful legislative offices in the country?
Even more troubling is his track record of political fragmentation. From the post-2007 electoral realignments to the 2011 contests, his political manoeuvres have repeatedly coincided with divisions within the opposition, often to the detriment of Urhobo collective interests. While his loyalists were rewarded, the larger Urhobo political project suffered setbacks that are still being felt today.
His stewardship in terms of constituency development also raises critical questions.
Key projects credited to him were concentrated within his immediate community, leaving large parts of Delta Central with little to show for his years in office; even Orogun main town has nothing to show for his eight years in the Senate.
Key urban centres and historically significant areas reportedly received minimal federal presence.
This uneven distribution of development fueled resentment, even among his own kinsmen, and partly explains the electoral resistance he encountered in 2023.
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Today, Delta Central is experiencing an unprecedented level of political harmony.
There is alignment between elected representatives and the state government, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
This valuable stability is enabling coordinated development efforts across the district.
The reintroduction of a figure known for political confrontation and internal dissent risks undoing these gains.
The question, therefore, is not just about ambition—it is about consequence.
Should the Urhobo nation once again mortgage its collective future to a single, polarising political figure? Should the progress currently being made be jeopardised for the sake of recycled leadership? Or is this the moment to consolidate a new political culture—one defined by inclusiveness, humility, and strategic collaboration?
The truth is stark: Omo-Agege did not forget anything in the Senate. If anything, the Senate has seen the full measure of his capacity. The question remains whether the Urhobo people are prepared to repeat a familiar political cycle—one marked by division, dominance, and diminished collective gain.
Perhaps the time has come for him to step back and assume the role of a political elder and kingmaker.
It’s not out of place if Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege drops his third-term senatorial quest for the likes of Ominimini, who was alleged to have stepped down his senatorial ambition in 2023 to allow Omo-Agege to pursue his governorship ambition because they are both from the same local government and the same State constituency.
The Urhobo nation deserves progress, not regression disguised as experience.
