Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has criticised former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, following a series of political setbacks involving the Delta State politician.
In a post on X on Sunday, Odinkalu said Omo-Agege could not have envisaged his current political predicament when he was involved in the controversial removal of the senate mace in 2018, an incident that generated widespread national controversy.
He noted that the former Deputy Senate President had suffered multiple political defeats within a week, including his reported exit from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and losses in senatorial primaries in two different political platforms.
“Leadership is a voluntary thing and there is no joy when those who do or seek it for the right reasons get denied repeatedly. But that is when they seek it for the right reasons,” he wrote.
“When @OvieOmoAgege burgled the mace of @SenateNGR to prove his readiness to do anything for @OfficialAPCNg, he hardly reckoned with a week like this past one,” he added.
Odinkalu stated that within a single week, Omo-Agege had been “constructively booted out” of the APC and lost two senate primaries in different political parties—one to a man and another to a woman.
He added that Omo-Agege, despite his recent setbacks, played a significant role in strengthening the APC’s presence in Delta State.
“The irony of it all is that Omo-Agege is arguably the person who gave the APC a credible chance in Delta State,” he wrote.
Odinkalu further said the situation reflects the transient nature of political power in Nigeria, warning against what he described as overconfidence in political dominance.
“For many who have grown fat on the humbug of Nigerian power, the system is handing out rewards indiscriminately. It is a rude reminder of the transience of power,” he wrote.
