As part of the party's ongoing ward-to-ward campaign, he made the pledge while addressing APC members and supporters on Monday, December 18, in Koko, Warri North Local Government Area.
“So that with concerted efforts between Tinubu and I, we would bring the much-needed development to this land, starting by making Koko, Burutu, and Warri ports work again,” he promised if the Itsekiri people voted for him and his son-in-law, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as president.
The APC guber candidate presented a compelling argument for Joel Onowakpo Thomas, the party’s senatorial contender for Delta South, and other APC candidates, painting them as loyal party members who would provide the APC with the necessary support at all levels of government.
At the event, Senator Omo-Agege demanded that former Delta governor Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan issue an apology to the Itsekiri nation for his nearly criminal neglect of his native Warri North local government area during his time as Secretary to the State Government for four years and governor for another eight years.
He said that Dr Uduaghan had plotted with other PDP officials, including the party’s Senatorial candidate Michael Diden, called “Ejele,” to trick Itsekiri voters into voting for Okowa and his puppet, PDP gubernatorial candidate Sheriff Oborevwori, despite the Itsekiri people’s apparent hardships.
“This is Delta State; in 2015 and 2019, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa came to this place asking for your votes and promising prosperity to all Deltans. He failed woefully.
“In connivance with Speaker Oborevwori, Okowa has collected over 3.5 trillion naira as FAAC and 13 per cent derivation revenues; and another 270 billion naira as 13 per cent refunds. He has borrowed an additional 400 billion naira, yet, there is no development project worth 200 million naira in Koko”.
He claims that Dr Alex Ideh, a prominent member of the APC, had significant input with all of the city’s current developments as Commissioner under previous Governor James Onanefe Ibori.
Saying something like, “This is Uduaghan’s local government area. He was SSG for four years and had the power to influence development projects. He was governor for eight years but saw his local government. He disappointed his people and wanted to join forces with Okowa to punish them further.
“My late grandfather, the Nana of Koko, was, in the words of the curator of the Nana Museum, which I influenced to Koko, the governor of Benin River. By God’s grace, I will be Delta State’s governor and a good governor. I promise that the Koko/Ugbenu Road, abandoned by Uduaghan and Okowa, will be fixed. The Koko stadium project, which started in 2008 and was abandoned by Okowa and Uduaghan, your son will be completed by me, also your son, as governor.
“I commit that I will put a hospital in Warri North that will take care of the health needs of the people. Given the level of contribution to the State economy, I commit to site a state-owned tertiary institution each in Ijaw and Itsekiri lands. It is your right. Uduaghan and Okowa denied you, but I will restore them to you.”
He urged voters to put aside their concerns about “Ejele” on election day. When voters go out to the polls, “I, Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate, will ensure adequate security to protect you,” he promised.
Earlier, Dr Ideh bemoaned Koko’s crumbling infrastructure and urged voters to give the APC candidates their full support in the upcoming elections.
Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, a founding leader of the APC in Delta State, urged his people, the Itsekiri, to rally the Deltans to vote for Bola Tinubu and Ovie Omo-Agege because they were in-laws and kinsmen.
He thinks the Itsekiri people have never had it so well, with the APC presidential candidate being his sister’s husband and the APC gubernatorial candidate being the Nana of Koko’s grandchild.
At the same time, Senator Omo-Agege has blamed the Okowa/PDP government’s official wickedness for the escalating Aladja/Ogbe-Ijaw crisis in Delta state. He stated that the Niger Delta’s Urhobos and Ijaws, when the campaign stopped in Ogbe-Ijaw, are the same people and that the state administration is profiting from the division.
He called the conflict between the two sides “a quarrel among brothers” and promised to move quickly to tackle the issues perpetuating it.
During the rallies, Senator Omo-Agege’s running mate, Rt. Hon. Friday, Osanebi reminded the Ijaw and Itsekiri people that the ruling PDP had become the opposition party in the state.
“You have openly showed us that your hearts, minds, and most importantly, your votes are with all candidates of the APC, and this we appreciate,” he added in a statement headlined “We Will Not Abandon You Like They Did.”