There comes a point when political leaders must stop issuing evasive explanations and answer the difficult questions. For Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, that point is now.
The controversy surrounding the proposed ₦100 billion Industrial Gas Park raises a fundamental question: was the project located based on technical and economic considerations, or on political interests to concentrate development around his community?
That question goes to the heart of the crisis confronting the Urhobo Nation today. If the project is now stalled or at risk because the wrong location was chosen from the beginning, then Urhobo people have every right to demand answers. Omo-Agege is duty-bound to answer legitimate questions raised by a constituent, Mr Ufuoma Egbe, without looking for political capital
*A RIVER IS NOT THE SAME AS A NAVIGABLE WATERWAY*
The first issue is technical suitability. An Industrial Gas Park cannot be located simply because a river passes somewhere nearby. A project of this magnitude requires proper logistics, infrastructure, access to industrial inputs and transportation systems capable of supporting large-scale commercial activity.
Omo-Agege’s defenders have pointed to the Ethiope River in Eku as justification for the chosen location. But that argument misses the central question: Eku and Salubi are two different communities. While Omo-Agege wants to create the impression that the project site is in Eku, the actual site is in Salubi-Orogun and not Eku in Ethiope East, as Omo-Agege wants the Urhobo Nation to believe.
* Let’s accept without conceding: can the river at that location support the industrial and maritime operations required for a ₦100 billion Gas Park? * Can major cargo vessels navigate it? Can heavy equipment and industrial materials be efficiently transported through it? Can the location provide the logistical advantages necessary for the project to succeed? These are technical questions, not political ones. Until Omo-Agege properly answers, merely saying that a location is “close to the Ethiope River” is not enough.
IF THE PROJECT IS ALIVE, WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?
The project’s present condition raises another serious concern. The site was reportedly cleared by Omo-Agege and his brother Jemmy years ago. Yet the Urhobo people are entitled to know what has happened since then. Where is the substantial construction? Where are the facilities? Where is the evidence of continuing work? Omo-Agege should provide answers! The University of Medical Sciences Kwale continued even after Omo-Agege had left office because the processes were properly followed, even though he also took it to Kwale for political reasons against the interest of the Urhobo Nation.
A ₦100 billion project cannot simply disappear into silence while the people are expected to accept assurances without visible results. Whether the project is active, suspended or abandoned, the Urhobo Nation deserves a clear account of its status.
IS OROGUN THE WHOLE OF DELTA CENTRAL?
The Gas Park controversy has revived a larger criticism of Omo-Agege’s approach to development: the apparent concentration of major opportunities around his immediate village. That raises an unavoidable question: *Is Orogun the whole of Delta Central?* The answer is obviously no.
Orogun deserves development, just like every other Urhobo community. But Omo-Agege should behave as though the development of an entire ethnic nationality must revolve around his hometown. Delta Central is bigger than Orogun. Urhobo Nation is bigger than Omo-Agege.
Public development cannot be reduced to a system in which every major opportunity is expected to find its way into one man’s political backyard; that is excessive greed. That is not balanced development. It is political monopolisation.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER STRATEGIC LOCATIONS?
Several parts of Urhobo land possess strategic advantages that should have been seriously considered. Sapele has a long industrial and commercial history, with significant infrastructure and access to waterways, even though his dislike for Okpe will not let him bring it to Sapele; what about Oghara and Okwagbe?
Oghara has substantial economic potential, with strong infrastructure to support Industrial Gas Park. Okwagbe has also been repeatedly identified as a location with maritime and port-development possibilities.
What happened to these alternatives? What happened to Omo-Agege’s 2019 campaign promises of attracting investment to develop the economic potential of Okwagbe and its port facilities? If the objective was truly to create a major industrial hub for the Urhobo Nation, why were locations with stronger logistical and maritime advantages not more seriously considered?
A properly located Gas Park could have transformed an entire economic corridor, attracting businesses, infrastructure, jobs and private investment. Instead, Urhobo people are now confronted with the possibility that a ₦100 billion opportunity may have been jeopardised by the insistence on taking development to Orogun. That is the real issue.
THE WRONG ROAD HAS CONSEQUENCES
There is an old saying: *no matter how long you travel on the wrong road, you cannot arrive at the right destination.* If the project was located without strict adherence to professional and technical requirements, then the consequences being witnessed today did not begin today. They began with the original decision made by Omo-Agege to control the project as he did with the Federal Polyethnic Orogun, where only his family are the sole contractors, including contract for clearing and block-making.
If political influence was allowed to override professional advice, then the project was compromised from the moment that happened. That is why attempts to shift responsibility to others should be rejected.
*OMO-AGEGE CAN’T DEFLECT QUESTIONS ASKED OF HIM BY SHIFTING THE BLAME OF HIS DECISION ON DAFINONE*
Ovie Omo-Agege and his team should stop belabouring the issue, twisting the facts and beating about the bush. The people of Delta Central are not fools, and they deserve answers—not propaganda, distractions or manufactured excuses. The issue is straightforward: *What role did Omo-Agege play in the decision to site this monumental industrial project in Orogun, and what informed that decision?* Instead of confronting that question, there is now a desperate attempt to drag Senator Ede Dafinone into a controversy that clearly demands accountability from those responsible for the original decisions. Omo-Agege cannot suddenly develop selective amnesia simply because the questions have become uncomfortable.
The real issue is simple: *where are the facts and the documents?* Where are the feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, technical recommendations, approvals and stakeholder consultations that justified the decision? If the project was properly conceived and professionally handled, let the evidence speak. No amount of political gymnastics, emotional blackmail or diversionary tactics can substitute for facts. Having occupied one of the most powerful political offices in the country, Omo-Agege cannot now pretend to be an innocent bystander while attempting to shift responsibility to another.
Enough of the blame game. Omo-Agege cannot give someone who played no role in his decision a bad name simply because he needs someone else to carry the burden of bad decisions he made under his political influence as DSP. The Urhobo people can see through this familiar pattern of manipulation and calculated attempts to shift responsibility when the pressure mounts. *The burden is on Omo-Agege to explain his role—not on another Urhobo son to defend himself against distractions.* Let him stop hiding behind political rhetoric, produce the evidence and tell the people of Delta Central exactly what happened. The people are demanding accountability, and they will not be silenced, intimidated or deceived.
Omo-Agage originated the process that produced the disputed location and another person should not be made the scapegoat for decisions taken by Omo-Agage before he came into office. The issue is not who can be blamed politically today. The issue is whether the original decision was right—and whether that decision has now placed the entire project at risk.
This is where Senator Omo-Agege must provide a comprehensive and convincing account. The Urhobo people deserve to know:
*Who selected the location, and on what technical basis was it selected?* *What professional assessments were conducted before the decision was made?* *Did the relevant experts raise concerns about waterways, logistics, accessibility or long-term viability?* *If such concerns were raised, were they ignored?*
*What is the present status of the project, and why has there been no visible progress commensurate with a ₦100 billion industrial investment?* These questions go to the heart of the matter, and Omo-Agege must provide answers with documentary evidence; he can’t shift the burden to Senator Dafinone.
The response cannot simply be political denial. A project of this magnitude requires transparency, documentation and facts. If the location was chosen on sound technical grounds, the evidence should settle the matter.
But if political considerations influenced the decision at the expense of professional standards, then the Urhobo Nation has been made to pay an unacceptable price for one man’s narrow political calculations.
URHOBO MUST NOW FOCUS ON SAVING THE PROJECT
This matter is bigger than party politics. It is about ₦100 billion. It is about industrialisation, jobs and the economic future of the Urhobo Nation. The priority now must be to save the project.
If the present location does not meet the necessary requirements, the Federal Government and relevant agencies should consider relocating it—not abandoning it.
Oghara should be assessed. Sapele should be considered. Okwagbe and other technically suitable locations should receive serious professional evaluation.
The decision must be based on facts, infrastructure, logistics and long-term economic viability—not political influence. *Urhobo Nation must not lose a ₦100 billion industrial opportunity because one politician allegedly wanted to take everything home.*
Political offices are temporary, but the consequences of bad decisions can last for generations. Orogun is not Urhobo Nation. Omo-Agege is not Delta Central. And no man’s political ambition should be allowed to cost an entire people a ₦100 billion industrial opportunity.
The task before Urhobo Nation is therefore clear: demand the facts from Omo-Agege, insist on professional standards and unite to ensure that this project is saved and located where it has the best chance of succeeding.
The future of Urhobo development must never again be subordinated to the narrow geographical ambitions of any individual politician.
Ufuoma Egbe, A Political Analyst,
Writes From Eku, Delta State.
