By Louis Achi
On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the sedate Court of Appeal Complex, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, PEPT, delivered its exhaustive verdict affirming the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll.
Among the notable personalities present at the milestone court room which mirrored the vibrant political evolution of the Nigerian state was Senator Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR. His mission was simple: to provide imperative moral support to his party’s presidential flag-bearer, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress(APC). This is vintage Senator Omo-Agege. And he left no one in doubt as to where he stood at that historic moment.
Over time, Senator Omo-Agege has indeed remained consistent in character, in stature, and statesmanship. His consistency, focus and positions on weighty national issues shore up this perception. His sense of loyalty, something rare among Nigerian politicians, has clearly marked him out as a politician of significant and compelling trajectory.
He has spoken out and proffered informed views on diverse regional and national issues like true federalism, nationalism, federal character, national unity, religious tolerance and many other topical themes.
Born on August 3, 1963 to Justice James Omo-Agege, he hails from the Orogun Clan of the Urhobo ethnic nation, in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. To date, he remains an astute Nigerian lawyer, notable politician, fine administrator, uncommon humanist and business mogul.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege studied law at the University of Benin and was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1986 after completing his professional training program at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos.
Upon completion of his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence of the Kwara State Command of the Nigerian Police Force in 1987, Omo-Agege commenced his legal career with Pat Okupa & Co Law firm, where he cut his legal teeth as a litigator in private practice.
In 1989, he moved to Lagos and co-founded Agege & Co, a private practice with emphasis on corporate banking and commercial litigation matters, as a principal partner.
Omo-Agege, in 1990 moved to the United States of America and became a foreign associate in the law office of Charles O. Agege in Los Angeles, California, where he counseled foreign clients on Nigerian law.
In 1992, Omo-Agege was admitted into the state Bar of California District Court and the United States Supreme Court, Washington DC. He founded Agege & Associates in 1992 and became the senior partner of the firm. By 1996, Agege & Associates merged into a partnership called Agege &ESN and extended its scope of services to include international consulting, insurance, professional practice, et cetera.
He enrolled as a student in the post-graduate law degree program at Tulane University Law School, New Orleans and obtained the LLM (Masters of law) degree with distinction in 2002.
Ovie Omo-Agege began his political career when he returned from the United States. He was first appointed as the first Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori with responsibility for the clear formulation, transparent implementation, co-ordination of crucial government policies, monitoring and appraisal of Executive Council decisions to ensure compliance with the administration’s set goals.
He also acted as the Chief Liaison Officer, PDP National Headquarters and Presidency Relations, a crucial role that enabled him to forge relationship and friendship across for the benefit of the State.
Two years later, he was appointed to the Delta State Executive Council as Commissioner for Special Duties with responsibilities to oversee major private sector-public sector partnership programs and synthesization of same with government’s policy direction, amongst others.
Later, he was appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Delta State where his administrative ingenuity, intellectual prowess and profundity of thoughts shone brilliantly like an institutional lighthouse.
Omo-Agege served as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate from 2019 to 2023. He was the senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District from 2015 to 2023.
Omo-Agege was first elected to the Senate in 2015. He emerged the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate of the 9th National Assembly on 11 June 2019 after defeating his rival, Senator Ike Ekweremadu to win the second leadership position of the National Assembly. He is the first Senator from Delta State to emerge Deputy Senate President.
In October 2022, he was conferred Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Senator Omo-Agege was the APC Delta State governorship candidate in the March 18, 2023 election. That electoral contest is still under judicial contestation as the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, has reserved judgement in the case between Omo-Agege and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.
He had in his electoral petition, challenged the declaration of the second respondent, Governor Oborevwori, as winner of the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
He is married to the love of his life Rosemary Omo-Agege and both are blessed with five lovely children.
