By Chief Williams I. I. Makinde
The response of Chief Hon. Julius Eguvwebere, Ohwotemu R’ Agbon to our publication advocating for the return of Obarisi of Urhobo land, His Excellency Senator Ovie Omo-Agege to the Senate has just come to our attention and our reply is as stated below.
Chief Eguvwébere proposes that the nominations for Senate representation in Delta Central be rotated around the three federal constituencies in the Senatorial District namely:
1. Ughelli North/South Udu.
2. Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie
3. Ethiope Federal Constituency
In making that proposition, he presented a historical account of senatorial elections to show that the Ughelli North/Ughelli South/ Udu federal constituency has produced far more senators than the other two federal constituencies in Delta Central. He canvassed that the Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu federal constituency should this time, cede the Senate seat to the other two constituencies.
Our response to Chief Egwuvwebere and to everyone who share in his view or are convinced by it, is that the submission of Chief Julius Eguvwebere is not historically factual and is based on false evidence and presentation. The Delta Central Senatorial District is one Senate constituency incorporating two recognized historical divisions from colonial times. These are the Western Urhobo Division and the Eastern Urhobo Division. The internal historical dynamics driving the politics of the Delta Central senatorial constituency derive from these two recognized Divisions and not as was wrongly presented by Chief Julius Eguvwebere.
Western Urhobo Division, with headquarters in Orerokpe, comprises two federal constituencies today, namely Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency and Ethiope Federal Constituency, while Eastern Urhobo Division, with headquarters in Ughelli, comprises Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency and Isoko Federal Constituency, which is now part of Delta South Senatorial District and no longer part of Delta Central Senatorial District.
The facts of history is that whenever the opportunity for Urhobo to produce the Governor of Delta State presents itself, the positions of Governor and Senator are normally shared between Eastern Urhobo Division and Western Urhobo Division, such that if one goes to East, the other goes to the West.
This has been the practice since creation of Delta state, with Governor Felix Ibru of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Eastern Urhobo Division, who was the first elected governor from 1992 – 1993. During that period, the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District was Senator W.O. Eradajaye, Okpe Local Government Area, Western Urhobo Division.
And when Governor James Ibori, Ethiope West Local Government Area, Western Urhobo Division emerged as Governor and served two terms (1999 – 2007), the two senators from Eastern Urhobo Division were Senator Fred Aghogho Brume (1999 – 2003), Udu Local Government Area, and Senator Felix Ibru (2003 – 2007), Ughelli North Local Government Area.
Until now, these were the only times the opportunity was presented for both offices to come to Delta Central. So the instances of Senator David Dafinone (1979-1983), Senator Adego Eferakeya (2007 – 2011), Senator Pius Ewerido (2011 – 2013), and Senator Agwariavwodo (2013 – 2015) cannot therefore be used as the basis for assessment of power balancing and rotation in Delta Central Senatorial District, because the governor in these periods did not come from Delta Central.
Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency is the most populated federal constituency in Delta State. There has never been a time when the Governor and Senator come from the same division in Delta Central at the same time. This was to ensure power balancing between the Eastern and Western divisions of Urhobo, even though Eastern Urhobo Division is the majority.
This precedent guided APC’s 2023 nominations. With Senator Omo-Agege leading the Eastern Urhobo charge as governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor and Chief Obiuwevbi Ominimini selflessly stepped aside, paving the way for Chief Ede Dafinone’s unopposed senate bid from Western Urhobo. Now, honour demands we return the favour. It’s Western Urhobo’s turn to show statesmanship and yield the senate seat to Eastern Urhobo in 2027.
Having benefited from this power-sharing and balancing principle, Western Urhobo cannot now turn around to oppose it. Also, out of the 24 Urhobo kingdoms, 22 of which are in Delta Central, Okpe kingdom alone cannot produce the governor and the senator during the same tenure.
It is opportune that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege if persuaded to run would provide the required political balance to the old and tested dynamics of Urhobo politics. We shall continue to persuade him to pick up the gauntlet, forget old disappointments, and go strongly back to the Senate to showcase Urhobo leadership qualities while bringing benefits to his Urhobo land and people.
While the public discourse for a fitting senator for our district goes on, Urhobo people must also bear in mind that there are strong advocacies that Delta Central needs to elect a senator who has attained a high ranking position in the Senate and therefore stands in good stead to bring the benefits of his high ranking to his people in Delta Central. There is no Urhobo person who has attained higher ranking in the senate than the former Deputy President of the senate, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege.
We as Urhobo must always promote the best among us to positions of national honour and responsibility in the federal establishment in order to claim our dues in the federation while promoting our best for greater national assignments. Chief Julius Eguvwebere presented a fitting testimonial for Ovie Omo-Agege when he wrote:
“Mind you, no one is disputing that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege had a visible and impactful tenure”.
We urge the Urhobos to let us take the Chief’s own words as wise counsel for all Urhobo to get on the side of Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege and join in the task to get him re-elected to the Senate. Omo-Agege is young, full of energy and filled with bright ideas, rearing to be of further service to his nation, Nigeria and his senatorial district, Delta Central.
We thank Chief Julius Eguvwebere for the public expression of his views and hope that he has accepted due corrections.
As a proud son of Western Urhobo, I’m calling on fellow Western Urhobos to uphold our cherished tradition of power-sharing with Eastern Urhobo. It’s crucial that we honor the current power balance arrangement that has helped us maintain unity and progress in Urhobo Nation. We should refrain from contesting the senate seat in 2027, as doing so could upset this delicate balance and jeopardize our shared interests, I urge Senator Omo-Agege to take this opportunity to serve Urhobo once more, bringing his valuable experience and insights to help us achieve our collective aspirations.
We look forward to further interaction with you, Chief.
