By Olorogun Adelabu Ejiroghene Bodjor (Esq)
The growing attempt by some loyalists of former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, to rewrite the history of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State has once again exposed the dangerous culture of political revisionism in Nigeria. No amount of propaganda, insults, or emotional outbursts can erase the historical reality that the APC in Delta was not built by one man. As the Pioneer State Vice Chairman (Central), I am duty-bound to educate the public on the actual chronological milestones of the “Aboriginal APC” to put an end to this distorted narrative. It was a product of collective sacrifice, ideological conviction, and the resilience of several political actors long before Omo-Agege emerged as the party’s dominant figure after 2019 elections. So, the recent claims by Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa, asserting that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege single-handedly built the Delta State APC, are a historical fallacy fueled by political greed.
The narrative that Omo-Agege “built” Delta APC from scratch is not only misleading but also deeply unfair to the pioneers who laid the foundation upon which he later rose politically. The truth is that Delta APC existed before Omo-Agege joined the party, and it survived difficult years through the sacrifices of men and women who invested resources, political goodwill, and personal credibility into sustaining the opposition against the then all-powerful PDP structure.
To understand the real history of Delta APC, one must begin from the era of the late Senator Pius Ewherido. Before the APC merger crystallised nationally, Ewherido had already mobilised a strong bloc of progressive politicians under the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP). Members of the Delta State House of Assembly and grassroots political actors aligned with him formed part of the earliest opposition coalition that eventually merged into the APC structure.
That movement included figures such as Hon. Julius Okpoko, Hon. Okiemute Essien, Hon. Rufus Akpodiete, Mr. Akamukali, Henry Olori, and several grassroots organisers across Delta Central and beyond. Even Great Ogboru was initially part of that early coalition before later withdrawing at a stage in the alignment process. These individuals formed part of the original political roots of the APC in Delta State long before Omo-Agege’s eventual prominence.
Upon the tragic death of Senator Ewherido, the party became a flock without a shepherd. I personally reached out to Chief John Onojeharho to prevail upon Olorogun O’tega Emerhor to take up the mantle of leadership. His emergence did not merely stabilise the APC; it gave the party structure, visibility, organisation, and funding capacity at a time when many had already written off the opposition in Delta State.
Emerhor’s intervention breathed life into the APC and attracted several powerful political blocs into the fold. Leaders such as Senator Okpozo, Hycienth Enuha, Pa Kokori, DIG Ugbuja, Okemini Tilije, and numerous grassroots mobilisers rallied around the growing opposition platform. At the same time, the ACN bloc also strengthened the coalition with personalities including Festus Keyamo, A.S Mene, Dr Veronica Ogbuagu, Dr Ideh, Adolo Okotie-Eboh, and many others whose contributions cannot be erased from the party’s history.
Equally important were the early battles fought by pioneer party executives, including Prophet Jones Ode Erue, who endured harassment, intimidation, and enormous political pressure to keep the APC alive during its formative years. These were the men who built the structure when there were no federal appointments, no access to state resources, and no certainty of electoral victory.
By the time Omo-Agege fully rose within the APC, the foundation had already been firmly laid. What he inherited was not an empty shell but an existing political structure built through years of sacrifice and opposition struggle. His contribution was therefore an expansion of an already established platform, not the creation of one.
No serious political observer will deny that Omo-Agege strengthened the party’s electoral visibility, particularly after becoming Deputy Senate President. His office brought federal influence, political attraction, and media attention to Delta APC. However, building on an existing structure is entirely different from originating it. Political honesty demands that distinction.
Unfortunately, many within Omo-Agege’s political camp now attempt to portray every other stakeholder as irrelevant while projecting him as the sole architect of Delta APC. Such arrogance ignores the collective sacrifices that sustained the party before his ascendancy.
Today, many party faithfuls argue that rather than deepen inclusiveness, Omo-Agege centralised power around his loyalists and cronies, treating the party structure like a personal political empire. From ward congresses to state structures, many stakeholders complained of exclusion, imposition, and the systematic sidelining of founding party members who once fought to keep the APC alive during difficult years were the hallmarks of his leadership.
This is why the current loss of confidence in him by the majority in Delta APC did not emerge overnight. It is rooted in years of accumulated grievances from party leaders who believe they were discarded after helping to build the structure that eventually elevated the former DSP into national prominence.
Even the claim that Omo-Agege solely funded the party has repeatedly been disputed by several stakeholders. Party elders insist that the burden of sustaining the APC in Delta was historically shared among multiple leaders and financiers, particularly during the early opposition years when the party had no access to federal power. Omo-Agege never paid rent for the State Secretariat nor purchased a single chair for the office. His financial contributions were focused solely on his personal court cases to entrench himself as the “super numero” at the expense of others.
The political rise of figures such as Senator Ede Dafinone and Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas was also shaped by broader political calculations involving resources, alliances, and electability. These relationships were mutually beneficial and not acts of charity from one political godfather to another. Omo-Agege perhaps has not told his supporters of Dafinone’s and Joel-Onowakpo’s contributions to his governorship project.
Beyond personalities, the larger lesson here is about political memory. Nigerian politics often suffers from selective storytelling where new power centres attempt to erase the labour of earlier builders. But structures like Delta APC were not built by one man. They were built through collective struggle, ideological persistence, and the sacrifices of numerous leaders whose names history must not forget.
The truth, therefore, remains unavoidable: Omo-Agege did not build Delta APC from nothing. He inherited a platform painstakingly constructed by pioneers such as Ewherido, Emerhor, Ogboru, Erue, and numerous grassroots actors who kept the opposition alive when victory seemed impossible. What he did was consolidate influence upon an already existing foundation.
The “Aborigines” of this party deserve decorum, not the sarcastic display of arrogance now flowing from the DSP’s camp. Omo-Agege is a beneficiary of a house he did not build, and his treatment of those who made his return to the Senate possible is the mark of a political ingrate whose greed is inelastic. He has enjoyed the fruits of a party he contributed almost nothing to; did he even know how we secured the consent judgment that saved him from disgrace at the hands of Emerhor years ago? And for his selfish interest, he maliciously drafted Chief Great Ogboru into the 2019 race, in a well-rehearsed plot to end Ogboru’s political career while boosting his own 2023 ambitions. Does such a man have a moral ground to ask for equity and justice? Was Omo-Agege equitable and fair as the then-leader of APC? We have left him to God, for vengeance is His.
And in politics, there is a major difference between laying a foundation and merely occupying the penthouse.
– Olorogun Bodjor Pioneer Delta APC State Vice Chairman (Central) writes from Warri
