TheCable

Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy president of the senate, said he wrote the Electoral Act of 2022 because of the politics of Delta state.

Omo-Agege made this known while addressing some party stakeholders at an event which took place in Delta — as seen in an undated video obtained by TheCable.

VIDEO: I wrote electoral act because of Delta politics, says @OvieOmoAgege pic.twitter.com/uQaHBfAjx4

— TheCable (@thecableng) May 2, 2022

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In the undated video, the deputy senate president told the audience not to be afraid of politicians who call the shots in Delta because those politicians cannot harm them.

Omo-Agege said he calls the shots in Abuja, the country’s capital, adding that he wrote the recently signed Electoral Act of 2022.

“No be who first call police dey win case. They (referring to some Delta politicians) dey here (Delta), we dey Abuja. You know what that means,” the deputy senate speaker said in Pidgin English.

“As my leader, Dr Mordi said, electoral regime don change and that electoral act wey una dey hear so, na me write am. I write am because I know how Delta politics be.”

On April 14, Omo-Agege declared his intention to run for the office of governor of Delta state.

The deputy senate president said the administration of Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed to perform in the state.

In recent times, the Delta APC has been at loggerheads with the administration of Okowa, which has led to a series of accusations and counter-accusations.

In 2019, Omo-Agege co-sponsored a bill with Abubakar Kyari, the senator representing Borno north, which sought a number of amendments to the electoral act of 2010.

The bill was titled: “A bill for an act to amend the electoral act (No.6) 2010 and for other related matters 2019”.

The amendment bill sponsored by Omo-Agege and Kyari was the launch pad to the amendment of the electoral act of 2010.

Controversy trailed the amendment process of the electoral act over the insertion of some clauses by federal lawmakers.

Initially, the bill was rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari over the insertion of the compulsory direct primary clause but it was later signed by the president after a rework.

Some political analysts accused federal lawmakers of inserting some clauses into the electoral act because of a power tussle between them and state governors.

The introduction of section 84(12) into the electoral act by federal lawmakers has become a subject of controversy.

By virtue of section 84(12), political appointees are meant to resign their appointment to be eligible as delegate in a party convention or candidate in an election.