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1) On June 23rd 2018, at the just concluded National Convention of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the Eagle Square, Abuja, Delta State chapter of the APC was involved in a deliberately contrived and shameful fight over who were the RIGHTFUL DELEGATES to occupy the pavilion designated for delegates from Delta State! This brawl which involved the use of chairs, wood, bottles and other objects in a free for all fight led to the wilful destruction of public properties and grievous bodily harm to persons.
2) The stage for this avoidable violence that could have resulted in the loss of human life was set by the impunity, arrogance, disregard for constituted authority, lawlessness and recalcitrance of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in particular and the Ogboru/Agege/Jones group of APC members in Delta State in general. In particular, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege believes he can do anything under the sun, illegal, unscrupulous or whatever, and get away with it. He is unaccountable to anyone. It is either his way or the highway!
3) During the recently concluded APC Wards, LGAs and State congresses, Senator Agege made a point of duty to conduct parallel congresses totally out of the purview, guidelines and supervision of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the APC. At the Wards/LGAs congresses, he hijacked Alhaji Sani Dododo, the chairman of a 6 member panel sent by the APC NWC to solely conduct parallel congresses for his group against the main congresses conducted by the Secretary and 4 other members. At the State Congress, he held on to Senator Obadara who was earlier sacked by the NWC and got him to conduct a parallel congress on a day earlier appointed but later postponed by the NWC.
4) Naturally, the NWC ruled out the parallel congresses conducted by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and his group while it approved the congresses conducted by its authentic panels sent to Delta State. This was the same rule the NWC applied in all 36 states and the FCT nationwide. The approved congresses produce the Chief Cyril Ogodo led State Exco and Wards and LGAs Executives as well as National Delegates for the Convention from Delta State. Chief Cyril Ogodo was duly sworn in and inaugurated by the NWC putting paid to who is or are the APC Exco in Delta State. Yet Senator Ovie Omo-Agege would not hear of that. He and his group went ahead and inaugurated a parallel Exco led by Prophet Jones Erue, in total disregard, again, of the NWC, and by implication, created his own faction of the party in Delta State.
5) Senator Omo-Agege then worked his way to be appointed a member of the National Convention Committee and Secretary of the Accreditation Subcommittee responsible for accrediting and admitting delegates into the Convention venue! Senator Omo-Agege then proceeded to abuse his power as the Secretary of the Accreditation Subcommittee and print an Accreditation Brochure for the Convention which fraudulently excluded the Chief Cyril Ogodo led Exco and elected delegates approved by the NWC and signed page by page by the then Chairman of the Party, HE Chief John Oyegun and counter signed by the Chairman of the National Convention Committee, HE Governor Badaru Abubakar, and instead replace same with his self approved Prophet Jones Erue Exco and purported delegates.
6) Senator Omo-Agege in his determination to have his way then manufactured a story about a consent Court Judgement from a federal high court in Abuja through a purported case between two of his cronies who sued the party’s National Chairman and the NWC. Chief John Oyegun as the then Chairman was in court to dispute the claim, testifying that neither him or the NWC, at anytime endorsed any terms of settlement that consented to Senator Omo-Agege parallel Exco being the authentic Exco in Delta State. Yet, carrying on, solely on his own, he approved and printed a convention accreditation brochure that falsely and fraudulently recognised his fake Exco.
7) Neither Governor Badaru Abubakar, the chairman of the National Convention Committee nor the Secretary, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba sighted any court judgement nor approved for Agege to exclude the authentic Exco and delegates of Delta State and replace with his purportedly court sanctioned Exco and delegates.
8) On Saturday June 23rd 2018, the day of the Convention, Senator Omo-Agege further abused his powers as Secretary of the Accreditation Subcommittee to post his cronies as accreditation officers for Delta State, provided them with Delegates tags for Delta State with firm instructions to accredit only the fake delegates list and Exco in the brochure he printed. He went further to bring in police and other security agencies well briefed to ensure the authentic Chief Cyril Ogodo Exco and delegates are not allowed into the accreditation venue for Delta State.
9) Determined not to be illegally excluded from participating in the Convention, and after due complaints to the Convention Chairman, the Convention Secretary and indeed, the Minister of State, Petroleum who is from the State, the APC leader in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, the State Chairman, Chief Cyril Ogodo and other leaders made frantic efforts and were able to get the authentic Delta State Exco and delegates into the Convention venue using the authentic list signed by the then Chairman of the Party and the Convention Chairman.
10) The Delta State authentic delegates led by the leaders and State Chairman on arriving at the Delta State official pavilion met the pavilion already occupied. All that they then requested was to have a place to seat. But Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief Great Ogboru will not allow it. Continuing in their arrogance and defiance, they ordered their followers to start throwing water sachets, bottles and other objects at the delegates. It is in this circumstances that the fracas started. It is indeed unfortunate that being conscious of the fact that Mr President was at the podium delivering his address, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief Great Ogboru still ordered their so-called delegates to start a fight and breach the security of the Convention. Several of the authentic delegates where brutalized and injured. Mr John Onojeharho, a close associate of Olorogun Emerhor was specifically targeted and had his skull broken. Chief Korowe, a 60 year old delegate from Ika South LGA and Rev Israel Unutame from Patani LGA also had their skulls broken.
11) To allow peace to return, it was the authentic delegates that voluntarily left after the intervention of HE Yahaya Bello, the Governor of Kogi State and took position at a different pavilion. This was what saved the situation from further escalation as Senator Omo-Agege and Ogboru were bent on continuing to promote violence and thuggery to the utter shame of Delta State delegates.
12) At about 12 midnight, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State reordered the security arrangements in the venue and announced that all non-delegates should leave the Convention venue immediately or be apprehended. Within 30 minutes after this announcement, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Chief Great Ogboru and their supposed delegates disappeared from the arena. The party leader Olorogun O’tega Emerhor and our authentic delegates, however, stayed on waiting patiently to cast their votes. After Rivers state delegates cast their votes, and at about 5am, the leader of Delta State delegates approached and consulted with the Convention Chairman, Governor Badaru who in the presence of the Convention Secretary, Senator Ndoma-Egba and the Governor of Edo state, HE Godwin Obaseki, directed that authentic delegates from Delta State should proceed to vote. This was about 5.30am on Sunday morning. The authentic Delta State delegates completed voting about 7am before leaving the arena to go home.
13) As the duly recognised APC structure in Delta State, we truly find the actions of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief Great Ogboru shameful and embarrassing. We sincerely apologise to Mr President and the National APC for this avoidable violence and shameful attempt to cause confusion at the Convention. We call for and support any formal investigation to be constituted to transparently probe the root causes of the brazen acts of criminality that led to what occurred at the Convention grounds at Eagles square.
14) We congratulate our own new party National Chairman, the comrade Governor, HE Adam’s Oshomole and his NWC members. We extend our sincere apologies for the events at the Convention. We pray for their success in moving the Party forward. We believe they will do what is right by APC Delta. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Chief Great Ogboru and Prophet Jones Erue continue in defiance to promote a FACTION of the party in Delta State. Only yesterday June 27th 2018, they caused to be published in two national newspaper, the Vanguard and Nation a write up under the logo of APC Delta State chapter with Prophet Jones Erue signing off as ‘State Chairman’. This is another brazen act of defiance and disregard to to the party. We call on the new National Chairman and the NWC to step into this matter and restore discipline and decency to APC Delta State.
