Dema Trumps Omo-Agege in NDC Delta Central Primary

​WARRI, Nigeria — In a major political upset that has sent shockwaves through the Delta State political landscape, the former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has suffered a second consecutive electoral setback. Omo-Agege lost the New Democratic Congress (NDC) ticket for the Delta Central Senatorial District to Olorogun Dr. Onome Bernice Dema.

​Dema, a former President of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) North America, secured a decisive victory over the veteran politician just days after Omo-Agege officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) following a highly contentious and disputed primary outing against incumbent Senator Ede Dafinone. Hoping to resurrect his senatorial ambitions under the umbrella of the fast-emerging NDC, Omo-Agege’s calculations were upended by an aggressive grassroots mobilization led by Dema.

​Political analysts note that while Omo-Agege maintained structural dominance in his traditional political strongholds, his failure to secure competitive numbers in key coastal local government areas ultimately sealed his fate.

​A Tale of Two Local Government Areas

​The decisive battlegrounds of the primary election were Sapele and Okpe Local Government Areas, where Dema engineered landslide victories of historic margins.

​In Sapele LGA, Dema cleared the board with a staggering 1,352 votes, leaving Omo-Agege with a mere four votes. She replicated this dominant performance in Okpe LGA, polling 1,650 votes against Omo-Agege’s five. The combined margins from these two sub-regions effectively placed the ticket entirely out of the former Deputy Senate President’s reach.

​Conversely, Omo-Agege found comfort in the Urhobo heartlands, though the numbers were insufficient to close the widening gap:

1.Ughelli North: Omo-Agege led with 1,024 votes.

2.Ughelli South: A razor-thin victory for Omo-Agege, edging Dema 1,160 to 1,146.

3.Udu: Omo-Agege claimed a comfortable 900 to 250 lead.

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4.Uvwie: Omo-Agege doubled Dema’s count, winning 400 to 200.

​5.Ethiope West: A tight contest saw Omo-Agege score 360 votes against Dema’s 340.

Note: The results from Ethiope East Local Government Area were officially cancelled by election officials due to irregularities and were entirely excluded from the final certified tally.

​At the formal declaration of results at the primary collation center, Dr. Onome Bernice Dema amassed a total of 4,973 votes to emerge as the lawful flagbearer of the NDC. Omo-Agege finished a distant second with 3,853 votes. Two other aspirants in the race, Akpodiete and Ineneji, finished on the fringes with 92 and 31 votes respectively.​With this development, Dr. Dema will officially fly the NDC flag in the upcoming Delta Central Senatorial election. The result adds an entirely new dynamic to a race that features heavily entrenched regional actors. Attention now firmly shifts toward the Omo-Agege camp to see whether the veteran lawmaker will support the NDC consensus or seek alternative political realignments as the general election cycle approaches.