Delta: Anxiety In APC, As Omo - Agege Escapes INEC's Hammer

It is a big blow and a deep disappointment in the camp of Senator Ede Dafinone, as his dreaded opponent, former Deputy President of the Senate, His Excellency Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has made the final list of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 general elections.

On Saturday, October 11, 2026, INEC released its final list of candidates for the 2027 polls, bringing relief to several prominent politicians whose eligibility had come under scrutiny after the Supreme Court judgment of September 24, 2026. Omo-Agege was confirmed as the authentic and valid candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for Delta Central Senatorial District.

The clearance has shattered the hopes and calculations of Senator Dafinone and his supporters, who had staked everything on Omo-Agege being disqualified. Immediately after the Supreme Court restored Sections 77(5)-(7) and 84(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 — which mandates parties to submit their membership registers to INEC at least 21 days before primaries and provides that only members on those registers can vote or be voted for — Dafinone's camp went into overdrive.

They launched a desperate media and backroom lobby, arguing that Omo-Agege, who recently left the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the NDC following the internal crisis in Delta APC, did not meet the membership timeline and should be disqualified. Their calculation was simple: if Omo-Agege is out, Dafinone gets a free ride to a second term without facing a serious challenger. That plan has now failed woefully.

According to a Daily Trust on Sunday report, Omo-Agege is among the prominent politicians who escaped INEC's hammer. The list includes former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, now the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate for Nasarawa after replacing Musa Angbazo who withdrew; former House Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda, now APC governorship candidate for Rivers; Senator Shehu Buba Umar, flying the PRP flag in Bauchi after leaving APC over a primary dispute; Senator Saliu Mustapha in Kwara; and former Delta Speaker Victor Ochei, who is the NDC candidate for Delta North.

INEC's National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, had earlier warned on Trust TV's Daily Politics that candidates who failed to meet the membership requirements would face disqualification. True to that warning, some big names were struck off. Former Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami in Gombe, Ladi Adebutu in Ogun and Aminu Gwarzo in Kano all failed to make the final list. But Omo-Agege survived.

The panic in Dafinone's camp is understandable. For almost three years in the Senate, Dafinone has been rated by stakeholders as one of the most silent and invisible senators from Delta State. No bill passed, no motion of Urhobo interest, no meaningful empowerment, no visible, significant project in Delta Central, stakeholders allege. His only visible activity has been political press statements attacking Omo-Agege through his media aides, including the Senior Political Adviser to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who has become his perpetual messenger and errand carrier for every governor of Delta State.

In contrast, Omo-Agege, during his two terms as Senator representing Delta Central and Deputy President of the Senate, attracted the Federal Polytechnic, Orogun; the Defence Space School, Orogun; the Oil and Gas Industrial Park at Eku-Sanubi; and the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale. He gave legal framework to FUPRE, secured hundreds of federal jobs for our people, built over 400 blocks of classrooms, and delivered over 10,000 solar streetlights, transformers, roads, water projects and ICT centres. He also empowered thousands across Urhoboland. There is hardly any community in Urhobo without Omo-Agege's footprint — a record Dafinone cannot match. Knowing he cannot win on performance or popularity, Dafinone's only hope was for Omo-Agege to be disqualified by INEC. Now that hope is gone.

With INEC's final publication, the stage is now set for a fierce, no-holds-barred senatorial battle in Delta Central — the heartbeat of Delta State. It will be Omo-Agege, the man who has never lost a senatorial election in Delta Central since 2015, versus Dafinone, the incumbent struggling to explain what he did with his first mandate.

For Omo-Agege's supporters across the eight local government areas of Delta Central, it is a moment of relief and renewed energy. For Dafinone's camp, it is disappointment, fear and confusion. 

Urhobo is waiting. 2027 is coming.

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