Omo-Agege attacks Dafinone over ₦100bn Eku-Salubi oil and gas park

Politics

WARRI, Nigeria (NPA) — Former Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has criticised Senator Ede Dafinone, who represents Delta Central Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly under the All Progressives Congress (APC), over his response to the controversy surrounding the proposed Oil and Gas Industrial Park at Eku-Salubi.

Omo-Agege, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial candidate for Delta Central, also criticised Dafinone’s media team, accusing it of avoiding the central question of whether the senator supports keeping the project in Delta Central.

In a statement issued on Saturday, September 12, 2026, by Godwin Anaughe, his Special Adviser on Strategy and Communications, Omo-Agege said Dafinone’s response, titled “Development Should Not Be Used as a Political Shield,” failed to clearly state his position on the location of the project.

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The former Senate Deputy President said the proposed ₦100 billion project, whose value would be significantly higher at current exchange rates, should remain in Delta Central and accused Dafinone’s camp of using technical concerns to create uncertainty around the project.

According to Omo-Agege, Dafinone’s statement raised questions about the project’s feasibility, viability, environmental impact, funding and sustainability without providing evidence to substantiate the concerns.

“That isn’t oversight — it’s a smokescreen,” Omo-Agege said, arguing that if there were genuine concerns about the project, Dafinone had the authority to call for a technical review.

He accused the senator of “sabotage with better manners” and said Dafinone’s position did not make clear whether he was seeking to strengthen the project or laying the groundwork for its relocation outside Delta Central.

Omo-Agege further argued that the project had already undergone due diligence by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the statutory regulatory agency responsible for the sector.

He said the project was approved during the tenure of the then NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote, following the Board’s appraisal of its siting and feasibility.

According to him, land had subsequently been acquired, environmental assessments completed and the site cleared, making the project’s regulatory history a matter of institutional record rather than political patronage.

Omo-Agege challenged Dafinone to identify any aspect of the NCDMB’s assessment that he disputed and explain the basis for doing so.

He also questioned Dafinone’s actions when proposals to relocate the project first emerged, noting that the senator was already Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content at the time.

“Dafinone was already Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content when the push to relocate this project first surfaced. He had the seat and the platform to shut it down publicly. As usual, he said nothing,” the statement said.

Omo-Agege also challenged Dafinone to state where the project should be located if not Eku-Salubi in Delta Central, asking whether he supported a possible relocation to Delta South.

He said Dafinone should make his position clear rather than describing his concerns as ordinary legislative oversight.

“Nobody is asking Dafinone to rubber-stamp anything flawed. We’re asking him to do his job: support the project, improve it, and protect it,” Omo-Agege said.

He argued that Delta Central had waited for decades for an investment of the scale of the proposed oil and gas industrial park and said the project deserved protection from those representing the district.

Omo-Agege also rejected suggestions that he regarded the project as his personal achievement, stressing that it belonged to the people of Delta Central.

“Senator Omo-Agege has never treated this project as his own. It belongs to the people, and that’s why he’ll keep fighting for it — improving it, funding it, and fixing whatever needs fixing,” the statement said.

He maintained that the central issue was whether Dafinone supported the project, backed Eku-Salubi as its location, would fight to keep it in Delta Central and oppose any attempt to move it to Delta South.

“These aren’t political traps. They’re questions about whether the man holding that Senate seat is working for Delta Central or against it,” Omo-Agege said.

He urged Dafinone to provide clear answers on the project and warned against using “oversight” as a cover for what he described as a possible relocation effort.

“Delta Central is listening. Urhoboland is watching,” the statement concluded.