Kelechi Worgu
New twist over the week followed the emergence of the Senator Representing Delta South senatorial district in the national assembly, Ovie Omo-Agege, as the deputy senate president, as it has stirred a storm in the South-South politics of the All Progressives Congress.
Several persons in the region, especially in the camp of the immediate past minister of transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, are alleged to have expressed worry over the development.
Omo-Agege’s emergence, it was gathered, has forced a re-alliance in the polity as stakeholders say that his emergence as deputy senate president automatically makes him the de-facto leader of the party in the zone, a position the minister previously occupied by the minister.
This also ensures that most political appointments into boards and agencies will come from him.
Although it is likely that the former governor of Rivers State will be re-appointed as a minister, sources say the top echelons in the party are reportedly not happy with him over his role in the party’s exclusion from the 2019 elections in Rivers State.
One of the sources who did not want his name in print told theportcitynews that the emergence of Omo-Agege as deputy senate president automatically makes his the leader of the party in the region.
According to him, the composition of board members for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and other regional federal government’s agencies will henceforth have his input as the leader of the party in Niger Delta.
He added that the likes of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomole and the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who worked for Omo-Agege’s emergence are not in good terms with Amaechi for imposing Tonye Cole on the party as the gubernatorial candidate to the exclusion of other founding members of the party in the state.
The source who is also a high-ranking member of the party explained that Amaechi’s faction which was loyal to the then John Oyegun led party executive, were also part of party members who called for the resignation of Adams Oshiomole as party chairman, stressing that the change of guards will also affect some of the appoints made in the region from the Amaechi’s camp as no senator or house of representative member from Rivers State is of the APC which signifies the political downfall of the minister.
Another source, a member of the party, explained that there has been division and factions in the party right from 2015, adding that it might likely not change the order of things as the new deputy senate president does not have the national appeal that the former minister of transportation has.
However, he agreed that the emergence of Omo-Agege has also given chieftains like the former senator representing Rivers South-East senatorial, Magnus Abe, a lifeline as both Tinubu and Oshiomole has soft spot for Abe whom they felt would have defeated Governor Nyesom Wike to emerge governor of the state if not for Amaechi.
