As political parties gear up for the March 11, 2023 governorship and state House of Assembly elections, Delta State government has accused the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the state, Ovie Omo-Agege of alleged involvement in a fraud trial In the United States of America.
Omo-Agege is the current Deputy Senate President of Nigeria.
Reacting on behalf of the state government to what it described as a "series of mendacious propaganda and barefaced lies churned out on daily basis by the opposition APC in Delta State,", the information commissioner, Charles Aniagwu, in a press statement, obtained by SaharaReporters, also accused Omo-Agege of hijacking pipeline surveillance contracts meant for the people of the state, especially the Urhobos and the Isoko people while paying them a pittance.
He said, "However, the Deputy President of the Senate and APC's Guber candidate should be reminded that we are not unaware of his trial for fraud in the United States of America and how he desecrated the hallowed chambers of the Senate with the mace saga.
“We are not also uninformed of how he hijacked surveillance contracts meant for the people of the state especially the Urhobos and the Isoko people while paying them pittance. Because we are decent people, we need not emphasize the fact that the few things he brought into Delta are largely warehoused in his Orogun community, hence he is not just tribal but clannish. As a party in the state, we pride ourselves with the massive infrastructural development of the PDP administration over the years.
"And we are running our campaigns based on Sheriff Oborevwori's M.O.R.E Agenda which is structured to ensure smooth and progressive continuity in governance, anchored on Meaningful Development, Opportunity for all Deltans, Realistic Reforms and Enhanced Peace and Security in the state.
“On the alleged N850 billion loan or debt as alleged by the APC, we can only but describe it as a lie from the pit of hell and we challenge them to provide the names of the banks that lent us the money and when they were borrowed. The Asaba Airport concessioning remains one of the best decisions of the Okowa administration because the airport is doing better than what it was before the concession.
"The uninformed APC would have wanted us to run the airport with state funds with no expertise. In line with global best practices, experts in aviation field who are not in any way related to the Governor are running the airport and they also confirmed that they never met the Governor throughout the negotiations.”
“We, therefore, urge Deltans to ignore the calculated attempts by the APC to demonise our party even as we remain ever committed to ensure that our Governorship Candidate, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and candidates of our party in the State House of Assembly emerge victorious in the March 11 Governorship and House of Assembly pollS,” Aniagwu stated.
Reacting to the allegations, the state publicity secretary of the APC, Valentine Onojeghuo, debunked the allegations, saying, "These allegations by the Delta State PDP are totally replete with barefaced lies and innuendos without any iota or substance of truth. It is a calculated media onslaught presently being undertaken by the Delta State Governor Dr Ifeanyi Okowa and his poorly paid social media rats in a vain attempt to discredit the soaring image of our gubernatorial candidate HE Sen Ovie Omo-Agege is now the obvious front-runner and in a pole position to win the forthcoming polls for the office of the governor of the state.
"We are confident that these mendacious media propaganda tactics are doomed to fail as the people of Delta State are tired of Okowa and his scurrilous claims.
“However, to set the records straight and avoid perversion of the facts, at no time was the governorship candidate of our Party HE Sen Ovie Omo-Agege, tried in the USA for fraud or any criminal offence of that nature. The evidence of his innocence is there for everyone to verify the facts."