Former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has rejected claims that a recent Supreme Court judgment has disqualified him from contesting the Delta Central senatorial election in 2027.
Omo-Agege, who is contesting the seat on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), made the clarification through his Special Adviser on Strategy and Communications, Godwin Anaighe, in a statement issued in Asaba on Saturday.
The statement followed reports and political reactions suggesting that the Supreme Court’s decision on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 could affect Omo-Agege’s eligibility to participate in next year’s election.
According to Omo-Agege, the Supreme Court judgment did not make any specific order against him and did not declare him ineligible to contest the election.
The Supreme Court recently restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 relating to political party membership registers and the nomination of candidates. The affected provisions include Sections 77(5), 77(6), 77(7) and 84(2).
Omo-Agege said his name was contained in the NDC membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission before the May 10 deadline. He also stated that his name appeared on INEC’s published final list of candidates.
He argued that the court’s decision should not be interpreted as a ruling specifically directed at his candidacy.
“The distinction is straightforward: The Court ruled on the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act; it did not issue a candidate-specific ruling against Omo-Agege,” he said, according to the statement.
The former senator also reacted to celebrations by supporters of his political opponent, Senator Ede Dafinone of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who reportedly interpreted the Supreme Court judgment as affecting his candidacy.
Omo-Agege described that interpretation as inaccurate and maintained that the court’s judgment should be considered within the specific legal questions before it.
He further said he remained focused on the 2027 Delta Central senatorial contest and urged his political opponents to concentrate on their records, programmes and campaign messages.
“If Dafinone wants the Senate seat, he should come to the field with his record, his programme and his arguments for another term,” Omo-Agege said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has attracted political and legal attention because of its implications for party membership records and candidate nomination procedures ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, reports on the judgment indicate that it did not automatically cancel individual candidates without a candidate-specific legal determination.
Omo-Agege’s statement therefore seeks to draw a distinction between the court’s interpretation of the Electoral Act and claims concerning his personal eligibility to contest the Delta Central seat.
He said the final decision on the election would ultimately be made by voters in Delta Central when the election is conducted.
This version is substantially reworded rather than copied from the source. The factual claims are attributed to Omo-Agege and independently reported details are cited; as with any news rewrite, this is not a formal plagiarism-database clearance.
