By Francis Ewherido and Emma Ewherido
Delta Central Senatorial District has had the fortune of producing some outstanding senators. Notable among them are the great Senator David Dafinone (DOD) and the erudite Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido, Aka Gogorogo), both of blessed memory. The current Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District who is also the Deputy President of the Senate, HE Ovie Omo-Agege, whose birthday is today follows a familiar path.
Omo-Agege had a privileged background. He was born on 3rd August 1963. His father is the late Justice James Omo-Agege, who was the Chief Judge of Delta State and his mother is the late Princess Francesca Okwendo-Wanogho, chartered public accountant in the government of Bendel State now Edo State and Delta State both of Orogun Clan in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State.
He had his early education in Bendel State. Proceeded to study law at the University of Benin and was called to the bar in 1986. He did his National Youth Service with Police Command in Kwara State. University degree and NYSC certificates which we took for granted then are now the albatross of many politicians in Nigeria. He also holds a Master’s Degree with distinction from Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, USA.
After being called to the bar he has practiced in Nigeria and the United States for some years. His legal background prepared him for his journey in politics and government. He was at various times special assistant to the governor, commissioner for special duties and secretary to the Delta State Government. He became a senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District in 2015. He was reelected to the senate reelected in 2019. The icing on the cake was his emergence as the Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The position has enabled him to surpass all his predecessors in terms of projects he attracted has to Delta Central Senatorial District. These include a Federal Government Polytechnic in Orogun, Delta State, massive improvement in electricity transmission and other electrification projects.
In law making, his core duty, he has been involved in the following: A bill for an Act to Establish the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun and for Other Matters Connected Thereto, which was passed into law and assented to by the President; National Social Security Commission (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2022 (now passed by the Senate); Court of Appeal Act (Amendment) Bill 2019; a Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Polytechnic, Orhomuru, Orogun, which was passed and assented by the president; a Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for Matters Connected therewith, passed and assented to by the president; A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for Connected Matters, 2019; A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for Connected Matters, 2019; A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Electoral Offences Commission and for Connected Matters, 2019 he co-sponsored with Senator Abubakar Kyari and Senator Kabiru Gaya and National Industrial Court Act (Amendment) Bill 2019. There are other bills including those in the works. Now we have worked with my brother, Sen. Ewherido and know that the process of getting a bill to be passed by the state assembly and the senate is rigorous. Any good lawmaker will tell you the rigours they go through to get a bill passed. That is why some of them spend donkey years in the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Legislature without a single bill to their name.
He has done well in the senate and will do a lot more when he becomes the governor of Delta State. Obarisi Omo-Agege is married to Rosemary Omo-Agege, also a lawyer and they both have five children. Happy birthday and many happy returns, sir.
