It was the ancient Egyptian philosopher, (1370 BCE), Rob Sitamen, who succinctly posited that in every era cometh positive leaders who transform the state positively for the good of all. According to her they are ”…the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently…. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward” positively. Nigeria’s Deputy President of the Senate and the Delta State All Progressives Congress(APC) governorship candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege rightly belongs to this generational mold of positive, impactful and transformational leaders eloquently captured above by Sitamen.
Since Senator Ovie Omo-Agege forayed into the murky waters of Nigeria politics, he has remained irrepressible, undaunting, and resolute in his irrevocable belief to make the world a better place, and as Rob Sitamen said: “push the human race forward” in very positive ways.
*INTRODUCTION AND INSIGHTS*
With vast legislative and executive experience, the APC standard bearer for Delta State, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has vowed to build a new Delta, and bequeath to Deltans a renewed hope in governance as a new dawn beckons.
“A new Delta sitting on a hill of purpose-driven leadership and beaming God’s glory to the world will be a shining model of peaceful co-existence, inclusiveness, mutual respect and the existence of government for all, not a few”, he said.
Created in 1991 out of the defunct Bendel State, Delta state has not fared well in all development indices in comparison with its peers in the last 30 years.
A state with vast mineral resources has in more than three decades suffered monumental leadership, economic and infrastructural deficit despite humongous crude oil receipts running into trillions of naira.
It is this void, criminal deprivation, and rampaging poverty in the land that is propelling Senator Ovie Omo-Agege to the gubernatorial contest to serve his dear Delta State people.
*WHY OMO-AGEGE IS DELTA STATE’S BEST CHOICE…*
Having demonstrated his unquestionable and unrivaled ability as well as capacity as a legislator per excellence, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is clearly ahead in the race to occupy Dennis Osadebey House come 2023.
Coming at a moment when the current leadership of the Okowa-led state PDP government is criminally plugging the state into unavoidable debts (N175bn going by Governor Okowa’s own public statements!) with little or nothing to justify the endless round of borrowing, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has urged all Deltans to seize this auspicious moment to work together in building the new Delta of our dream.
“All of us working together as a statewide team with sincerity of purpose can make the new Delta possible. Not tomorrow but now. This is the moment. The moment of building a new Delta for a better future is here. But we can’t do it alone. So join us to make it happen in the next four years regardless of where you come from or the language you speak,” he stated.
For Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, when preparation meets competence and capacity, the resultant effect is a progressive transformation that transcends one generation to another. After all, Dubai was built by men within a thirty years’ development plan. What is obtainable in Dubai, Lagos, River State and elsewhere can be replicated in Delta. It only requires the will and determination of a leader with focus.
Making a case for the new Delta, Senator Agege said recently: “Delta has no modern infrastructure. Public assets are brazenly and viciously targeted, stripped and corruptly traded to cronies for peanuts”
The lack of world-class infrastructure cutting across roads, health facilities, schools and the absence of developmental plans for urban renewal in the state is a clear paradox of a state in the reversed gear.
Today, our beloved Warri City like the ancient Babylon, is in ruins. The city has further deteriorated to a mega ghetto gasping for breath! There is hardly anything of positive significance within Warri and its surrounding settlements despite contributing largely to the state’s resources.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege while decrying the terrible deteriotion of the once flourishing cities and towns in the state, especially Warri, Ubiaruku, Asaba, Burutu, Oleh, Ughelli, etc had declared at a recent public event that:
“The Warri that you grew up in, is dead and now in great need of massive urban renewal and God willing, it is one of the major assignments that our administration will focus on if we emerged as governor and deputy governor of Delta State.”
*BRIEF PERSONALITY PROFILE…*
Coming from a renowned family background coupled with compelling educational credentials which clearly stand him apart from his opponents, Senator Omo-Agege’s Pan-Delta agenda and acceptability is not in doubt as he symbolises the unifying force that Deltans desire for a positive change of the PDP government that has plunged a once vibrant Delta into avoidable state of comatose, and decay!
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, Ovie 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 activities to include international consulting, insurance, professional practice, etc.
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 appointed as the first Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori with responsibility for the clear formulation, transparent implementation, coordination 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 which enabled him to develop a network of contacts and friendship across Nigeria.
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!
With this rich knowledge and excellent background, Omo-Agege is committed to improving the lives of all Deltans as well the overall development of the State. While on a recent consultation visit, he had promised to open up the riverine and oil producing communities with rapid development as development will be state-wide as against the one-sided development of the incumbent Okowa-led PDP government, narrowly focusing on what political commentators have described as ”Owa-alero bent”, to the criminal neglect of cities across the three Senatorial zones of Delta State!
*OMO-AGEGE’S PERFORMANCE DRIVEN PAN-DELTA VISION…*
Determined to attract foreign direct investments with his extensive international network and the formulation of deliberate and urgent policy to revive moribund industries in the state to tackle spiraling unemployment and needless insecurity challenges, Omo-Agege is not unaware of the importance of a conducive environment for business to thrive. In line with global trend, insecurity will be tackled decisively as a top priority of his blueprint.
Endowed with arable land and excellent climate, the Omo-Agege vision will see his government, embarking on an aggressive investment in mechanized agriculture with a drive for finished and processed agro products like cassava flour, palm oil, rubber latex, sweet potatoes, rice production and others for both domestic and export markets even as the neglected tourism sector would be fully developed.
In collaboration with the central government, the Omo-Agege blueprint highlights the imperative of transforming Warri port and indeed all ports in Delta toward operating at their maximum capacity as well as an urgent face-lift of the Osubi Airport to an international cargo and passengers’ airport to stimulate the business environment. The completion of abandoned industrial parks in different parts of the state, especially those in Ndokwa axis, Asaba, abandoned parks in Delta South and maximizing their potentials as economic stimulants are part of the larger economic blueprint of the Omo-Agege’s vision for Delta state.
In the words of American politician, statesman, and the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, “there can be no life without change and to be afraid of what is different or unfamiliar is to be afraid of life.” Ovie Omo-Agege is fully equipped, prepared and equal to the task ahead. We should all support him as the best governorship candidate for Delta and Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi as his able deputy, in order to reposition Delta State for true greatness. Together, we all from Central, South and North, can truly pull back Delta state from the brink of collapse, restore the lost glory of our beloved State again with Omo-Agege as our choice! A flourishing state flowing with milk and honey with abundant resources deployed equitably for the overall growth, development and benefits of all Deltans is possible with Agege!
Let’s do it together for the love of Delta!
NB: This article by Mr Ibru Nejuvie, a journalist based in Asaba, is culled from The New Diplomat!
(https://newdiplomatng.com/verdict-why-ovie-omo-agege/)
