The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State announced the expulsion of Senator Ovie Omo‑Agege, the Deputy President of the Senate, from party membership. The expulsion, attributed to alleged anti‑party activities and other unnamed offences, was detailed in a letter dated 31 March 2023, obtained by the newspaper on Monday. The letter, signed by Chairman Ulebor Isaac on behalf of the State Executive Committee, Secretary Inana Michael, and 23 other members, records a unanimous resolution to remove Omo‑Agege as a party member. The decision was based on provisions of Articles 21.2(1)(II)(VII), 21.3, and 21.5(g) of the 2022 APC Constitution (as amended).
The expulsion notice states that Senator Omo‑Agege “stands expelled as a member of the party with immediate effect for various offences committed and acts of anti‑party activities and gross misconduct that have brought shame and ridicule to the image of the party in the state, affecting the party in the just‑concluded elections.” The senator, who was the APC’s governorship candidate in Delta State, lost to PDP candidate Sheriff Oborevwori, receiving 240,229 votes—120,005 fewer than the winner’s 360,234.
Critics within the party accused Omo‑Agege of prioritising his own ambitions over campaigning for President‑elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the state. In response, Delta State APC Publicity Secretary Imma Niboro dismissed the expulsion as “fake,” insisting that the signatories were not the legitimate executive committee and that no factions exist within the Delta APC.
Further clarification came from State Chairman Omeni Sobotie and State Secretary Peter Akarogbe, who issued a joint statement on Monday evening. They affirmed that the “legitimate and only recognised State Executive Committee” of the APC, in consultation with the National Headquarters and all other party levels, denounces the publication as fraudulent and a ruse. They urged party members, the public, and stakeholders to disregard the document, describing it as the work of “men with crooked intentions.”
The statement emphasized that all executive committee members at ward, local government, senatorial district, and state levels were duly elected at party congresses monitored by the national secretariat and the Independent National Electoral Commission. It warned that the alleged expulsion’s authors are “dubious impostors” whose claims could threaten public peace, calling on the Nigerian Police Force, DSS, and other security agencies to intervene.
In related developments, after the 18 March governorship and state assembly elections, Lauretta Onochei, the current Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission board, faced an indefinite suspension imposed by her Ward 04 executive committee in Aniocha North Local Government Area.
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