Omo - Agege Ovie Augustine
240,229 votes (34.96%)
Omo - Agege Ovie Augustine is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2023 Gubernatorial Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Delta. They received 240K votes (34.96%).
Biography
Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege (born 3 August 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate from 2019 to 2023.
He was the senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District from 2015 to 2023. Omo-Agege was first elected to the Senate in 2015.
He is from the Orogun clan of the Urhobo ethnic group in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
He emerged as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate of the 9th National Assembly on 11 June 2019 after defeating Senator Ike Ekweremadu by a margin of 31 votes.
Omo-Agege was the first senator from Delta State to become Deputy Senate President and also the first Delta Central senator to be written by Perry.
Born on 3 August 1963 in Delta State, he attended St. George Grammar School, Obinomba-Umukwata in Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State.
He graduated in 1985 from the University of Benin with a degree in Law and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986.
In 2002, he obtained his master’s degree in law from Tulane University Law School.
Omo-Agege was deployed to Kwara State for his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Nigerian Police Force, Kwara State Command.
He started his legal career by working with Pat Okupa & Co. in Lagos in 1987.
In 1989, he co-founded the law firm Agege & Co.
He moved to the United States in 1990, working as a foreign associate at Charles O Agege’s law office in Los Angeles, California.
He was called to the State Bar of California, the United States District Court, and the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC.
He returned to Nigeria in 1992 to establish Omo-Agege & Associates, where he was also the senior partner.
In 1996, he merged his firm Omo-Agege & Associates into a partnership, forming Agege & Esin.
Omo-Agege entered politics by contesting for a seat in the Delta State House of Representatives under the Peoples Democratic Party, losing in the party primaries.
In 2003, Governor James Ibori appointed him as an executive assistant, holding the position for two years.
He was later appointed as a commissioner for special duties by the governor.
He ran for the office of Governor of Delta State but lost the People Democratic Party’s primaries to Emmanuel Uduaghan, who later became governor.
He was appointed as the Secretary to the State Government of Delta State by Governor James Ibori in 2007.
He ran for Senate in 2015 under the Labour Party and was elected as a senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District on 28 March 2015.
He defected from the Labour Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on 7 March 2017.
He was re-elected as the senator representing Delta Central in the 2019 general elections.
On 11 June 2019, he emerged as the Deputy Senate President of the 9th National Assembly with 68 votes, defeating Senator Ike Ekweremadu with 37 votes.
The South-South caucus of the APC chose Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as the leader of the party in the region on 28 November 2019.
In 2018, he was accused of leading thugs to invade the Nigerian Senate Chambers and make away with the Senate Mace.
Omo-Agege is married to Rosemary Omo-Agege and they have five children.
In October 2022, Omo-Agege was conferred with the Nigerian national honor of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Security & Defense
Enhances compensation, medical care, housing support, scholarships, stipends, and health insurance for military personnel injured in duty and their families.
Governance & Reform
Commits to amending Nigeria’s governance architecture through constitutional review and collaboration with the National Assembly and State Governments to grant States greater autonomy over critical matters like crime prevention, prisons, stamp duties, and taxation.
Economy & Trade
Reforms the Federal Budgetary Methodology to move away from oil revenue dependence and base spending on projected growth, establishing an inflationary ceiling to optimize fiscal policy without causing excessive inflation.
Infrastructure
Launches a National Infrastructure Campaign to modernize national infrastructure by hiring millions of unemployed Nigerians through the fiscal flexibility gained from reforming budgetary methodology.
Agriculture
Will encourage local farmers to form farm cooperatives, enabling them to pool resources for modern farming equipment, fertiliser, and access priority government agricultural assistance programs (extension services), with tax breaks and credits.
Environment & Climate
Will **reduce Nigeria’s gas flaring** by removing it from the top 10 countries with highest flares, aiming to maximize sector benefits while eliminating environmental harm.
Anti-corruption
Curb reliance on imported goods via luxury taxes, higher tariffs, and processing fees while incentivizing local manufacturing with tax credits/rebates.
Enterprise grant support
Provides tax credits, holidays, and reduced interest rate loans for businesses that hire a specified percentage of youth in their workforce and offer on-the-job training.
Energy
Will increase Nigeria’s domestic crude oil production to **2.6 million barrels per day by 2027** and **4 million barrels per day by 2030**, while implementing a Special Enforcement and Monitoring Unit to deter theft, vandalism, and pipeline breaches using drones and aerial surveillance.
Education
Introduces a new management system for federally funded primary and secondary schools via Boards of Education, reserving community representation in decision-making.
Healthcare
Will strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure with incentive schemes, counterpart funding programs, and grassroots preventative care (vaccinations, cancer screening, blood pressure monitoring) in collaboration with state/local governments.
Technology & Digital
Establishment of an advisory committee to review and reform regulatory frameworks for blockchain technology and virtual asset services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Provides **conditional income support** to very poor households, tied to human capital development goals like high-school attendance, healthcare, and nutrition.
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