Chuks Erhire, a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, has described last Saturday’s solidarity walk in honour of President Bola Tinubu and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as a “huge success,” dismissing contrary claims as baseless.
Reacting to statements credited to Prince Elvis Oharisi, who claimed that the event was boycotted by the people of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Erhire accused him of deliberately spreading falsehood to mislead the public, and undermining the unity of the APC in Delta State.
He also accused Elvis Oharisi of engaging in “cheap politics,” warning him against using misinformation as a political tool as such actions only expose his desperation and lack of credibility.
“Our party is united. Attempts to create false narratives of disunity or rejection will fail. Oharisi’s lies are dead on arrival. His “cheap propaganda,” cannot derail Delta APC’s unity and commitment to supporting Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Omo-Agege’s leadership in Delta State, he added.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with NewsNet Nigeria, Erhire, currently serving as Executive Director of Engineering Services at the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority, insisted the turnout at the solidarity walk proved overwhelming public support.
“The solidarity walk was a huge success. Only fools doubt proofs. Video evidence is everywhere on social and mainstream media.
“It was convened by two young men, Christian Emegere and Tega Benson. The turnout was massive. Thousands of supporters came out to demonstrate their loyalty to President Tinubu and Senator Omo-Agege. It was clear proof that our people are solidly behind the Renewed Hope Agenda and the leadership of Omo-Agege.
“In fact, it became almost uncontrollable at the Ughelli market when they got there and the market women came all out to begin to give testimonies of the good works of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. They made it clear that it was during his reign as senator that he provided water they are drinking in the market and. street lights in the market were provided by him. They also said that right now they don’t need to go very far to send their children to tertiary institution because the Federal Polytechnic in Orogun has provided opportunity for their children to access tertiary education very easily,” he said.
Call for Omo-Agege to Contest Delta Governorship in 2027
On whether the walk signalled Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s gubernatorial ambitions, Erhire confirmed that participants were calling for Omo-Agege to contest the Delta governorship in 2027, citing a leadership vacuum since his exit from the Senate.
He said, “The solidarity walk was also to say that they have over the years witnessed different leaders across the state who have either been elected or appointed and that beginning from 2023 since Senator Ovie Omo-Agege left the Senate, there has been this leadership gap in terms of performance in programmes and projects in Ughelli North and beyond and therefore they are calling on Senator Ovie Omo-Agege to please step up the game and step back into the ring for the governorship of Delta State in 2017.
“It was stated expressly both from the banners they carried and the statements that were made during solidarity walk. They made evidently clear that today Delta State is receiving so much from the federation account but Delta State doesn’t appear as a state that is receiving the highest revenue in Nigeria.
“Almost everywhere you turn in Ughelli what you see is underdevelopment, roads that are broken, no electricity, no giving hope to the youths because there is no where to go and as a graduate you cannot wake up and say you are going to submit your CV anywhere because there are no industries and government is not thinking in that direction. And they think that with Ovie Omo-Agege considering the track record he has set as a Senator and Deputy President of the Senate, that if the man is in the seat as the governor of this state that a lot of things will change for good for the people.”
Power Rotation Debate: “Competence Must Prevail”
Addressing concerns over Delta State’s power rotation syDelt, which could be disrupted if another Urhobo candidate emerges—Erhire insisted that leadership should not be based on competence and performance.
He stated, “One thing is very clear. During solidarity walk, they were chanting that Delta State deserves the best, only the best is good enough for Delta State. It is not enough to say that it is Urhobo turn and therefore anybody can just go there. As a sitting Governor or a sitting Senator, it is your track record that should speak for you, not mere fact that you are sitted there. What matters in the end would be the fair and objective judgment of Delta people, whether the man that is sitting there now had met with the wishes and aspirations of the people. Whether he has been able to translate the huge resources we have in the state now to projects and programmes that can touch the lives of people positively.
“As far as the people were concerned their assessment of the performance of the man that is there now is below average. And they believe that from what they saw in Ovie Omo-Agege during his tenure in within four years as Deputy Senate President, they believe that if he is voted in as governor of the state that he would be able to do wonders in Delta State.
“You don’t need eight years to make impact. There are governors in Nigeria who did wonders by serving just one tenure. In fact, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege didn’t need eight years as Deputy Senate President or twelve years or twenty years in the Senate to make the type of huge impact he made. Four years is just too much for him. We believe that Ovie Omo-Agege does not require eight years to make impact.”
Erhire urged party faithful to ignore divisive statements and continue working together to strengthen the APC across all levels in the state.
