No Apology for rig and die comment, my Boss spoke the  Mind of Nigerians,  Omo - Agege's Aide declares

Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, will not apologise for his declaration that the 2027 elections will be "rig and die," his office has said, insisting that the comment is a legitimate defence of democracy.

In a 20-paragraph press statement issued on Tuesday, 27th October, 2026 and signed by his Special Adviser, Strategy and Communications, Godwin Anaughe, the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State said his warning was directed at election riggers and not at voters or electoral institutions.

The statement titled "2027: 'RIG AND DIE' - IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY" was a response to what Omo-Agege's camp described as "contrived outrage" by the Delta State Government and some APC leaders in the state.

Anaughe singled out the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information and Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the Delta APC Campaign Council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, and the camp of Senator Ede Dafinone, representing Delta Central, for accusing Omo-Agege of inciting violence.

"Their fake tears... pretend that 'RIG AND DIE' is a call to violence. That is a lie. It is mischief. It is hypocrisy from people who rig for a living," the statement said.

The Omo-Agege camp clarified that voters do not rig elections, arguing that the slogan is a warning to those who falsify results, cart away electoral materials, deploy fake security personnel and fake INEC officials, engage in vote buying and bypass the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

"'RIG AND DIE' is not a threat to voters... It is a patriotic warning to ballot thieves to stay away. It is a total rejection of electoral robbery and manipulation," Anaughe wrote, adding that the declaration is "lawful" and "constitutional" and consistent with the spirit of Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution which states that Nigeria shall not be governed by anyone who takes power except in accordance with the Constitution.

"To rig an election is treason. It is a coup against the people. It is political robbery. 'RIG AND DIE' simply entails every rigging machinery will be defeated and crushed by popular resistance," the statement said.

To justify the strong language, the statement recalled two precedents from the ruling party's top leaders. It noted that in April 2014, then APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had warned that it would be "rig and roast" for riggers in Ekiti and Osun states, and that in February 2019, then President Muhammadu Buhari directed security agencies to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers and that they would "pay with their lives." The Federal Executive Council, the statement noted, had backed Buhari's position at the time, and both comments were hailed by patriots as a defence of democracy.

"If Tinubu's 'rig and roast' was patriotic and Buhari's shoot-at-sight order was official policy, how does Omo-Agege's 'rig and die' suddenly become anarchy? This is hypocrisy and selective amnesia," Anaughe stated.

The statement also revisited the Delta Central bye-election of October 12, 2013, held to replace the late Senator Pius Ewherido. It claimed that Senator Ede Dafinone, then candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), had himself cried out that "there was no voting," accusing INEC of withholding result sheets and describing the poll as a sham.

"Then, he knew rigging was evil. Today, because his camp hopes to benefit from it, he wants Deltans to embrace rigging. We will not," the statement said.

On the frequent reference to the 2018 mace incident at the Senate, Anaughe said Omo-Agege's critics were acting out of ignorance and mischief. He said Omo-Agege had obtained a valid judgment of the Federal High Court nullifying his suspension by the Senate leadership, which the court declared unconstitutional, unlawful and illegal.

"He did not go to steal a mace and did not steal a mace. He went to resume his seat as a duly elected Senator," the statement said, describing the action as defence of the Constitution, the judiciary and legislative independence, and noting that he was reelected by the people of Delta Central Senatorial District and his colleagues later elected him Deputy President of the Senate, the highest office ever held by a Deltan.

"Just as his action on the Senate floor was in defence of democracy and against legislative tyranny, so also is RIG AND DIE in defence of democracy against ballot theft at the polling unit," it added.

The statement asserted that Omo-Agege had won the 2023 governorship election on lawful ballots but was rigged out with state funds and fake results in Delta North, particularly in Ika North, Ika South, Oshimili North and Oshimili South local government areas, allegedly orchestrated by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori working with compromised APC leaders.

"As a law-abiding leader, he went to court. The system protected the riggers," Anaughe said.

He alleged that Governor Oborevwori, whom he described as "wearing APC clothes but PDP at heart" and sitting on a "5 trillion naira war chest," was plotting the same script for 2027, hence Omo-Agege's declaration that there would be no court this time and that votes would be defended at polling units and collation centres.

"We call on INEC and the security agencies to be impartial. Protect voters, count votes accurately, and collate honestly," the statement said.

It warned that from "Orogun to Uvwie, Udu to Ughelli, Sapele to Warri, Agbor to Asaba, every polling unit will be locked down by vigilant voters."

Anaughe concluded that Omo-Agege would not be silenced.

"Omo-Agege has no apology. He spoke the mind of Nigerians. As a man who laboured in the Senate to reform our electoral laws, he cannot be silenced and watch riggers continue to steal the people's mandate. RIG AND DIE IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY," he said.

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