Omo-Agege Challenges Emerhor to Come Clean

The senator representing Delta Central senatorial district, Omo Ovie-Agege, has alleged blackmail in a petition filed against him by All Progressives Congress (APC) fellow stakeholder, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor.

Omo-Agege in a statement issued on his behalf by his Special Assistant, Efe Duku, said that it was part of the blackmail against him that led to the alleged smear media campaign in which Omo-Agege was alleged to have been indicted by the California Bar Association.

“Yesterday, Emerhor petitioned the InspectorGeneral of Police (IG), that the Senator Ovie Omo-Agege plans to kill him. Although Emerhor’s petition is a shocking, malicious, wicked and brazen lie calculated to blackmail, embarrass and demean Senator Omo-Agege and smear his reputation, our Senator has nonetheless called for its proper investigation.

“We note that many have reasonably asked why OmoAgege would ever plan anything against a so-called political opponent who has no electoral value - one who has never won an election in his own polling unit!

“Today, barely 24 hours after Emerhor’s wild, wicked, childish and laughable petition became a media show, a new lie, blackmail and campaign of calumny was launched against Senator Omo-Agege. The blackmailer wants the world to believe that Omo-Agege bears a criminal conviction from California, USA that legally disqualifies him from the 2019 Delta Central senate race.

Alleging that it was a proxy game by his political rival, Omo-Agege said he welcomes a healthy scrutiny of the backgrounds of all aspirants for political office.

While affirming that he was at one point accused of breaking the law in California during what he described as an illustrious legal career, Omo-Agege said he was, however, wholly cleared of the allegation by the Honourables Lance A. Ito (who presided over the popular O.J. Simpson murder trial case) and G. Magnera of the Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

“We are not altogether surprised that the electorally infertile self-acclaimed ’Supreme Leader’ of the Delta APC believes that the easiest and only way to win his first election is to first bring down his own brother with cheap blackmail, lies and judicial magic. when he received members of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) at the party’s National Headquarters, in Abuja.

Secondus, who was represented by the Deputy National Chairman, South, of the party, Elder Yemi Akinwomi said that APC in collusion with INEC used a different paradigm to scuttle the Osun election, which was clearly won by the PDP.

He stated, “We politicians are seriously worried about what is going to happen to the country after 2019. It is on record that when we lost election in 2015, we were the first party to concede defeat even when election results has not been released by INEC.

“In Nigeria, we practice differential democracy. INEC has been compromised; the security agencies have compromised. We have lost it all under this INEC.

“Since this Commission took over, there have been serious complaint over elections conducted by the government. Recently in Kogi and Delta States, they did not declare election inconclusive. It is obvious that INEC and the federal government are doing whatever they like. In Kogi the cancelled votes were 19,000 and the APC was declared winner with 10,000 votes margin.”

Secondus argued that in the last Senatorial election in Kogi, INEC declared the APC winner with about 10,000 vote margin despite the fact that 19,000 votes were cancelled.

The party called for the resignation of INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and that of the INEC Commissioner in charge of Operations, who is the cousin of President Muhammad Buhari, who heads the Operations Unit of INEC.

The chairman noted that INEC should be held responsible should anything befall the country after the 2019 election.

“We have come to let everybody know that if anything happens in 2019, the federal government should be held responsible. Federal government has the power of arm but we have the power of will”, he restated.

On the delegations were Raymond Esebagbom, Country Director, NDI, Dante’s Banes Country Director IRI, Sarah Vegede Toe and Anna Jones.