Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege (born 3 August 1963) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

lawyer and politician who is currently the

Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate The deputy president of the Nigerian Senate is second highest-ranking member of the Senate of Nigeria, after the President of the Senate. The current deputy president is Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege of the All Progressives Congress The All Prog ...

. He is senator representing the Delta State Central Senatorial District at the

Nigerian senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

. He was first elected in 2015 into the 8th senate. Omo-Agege is from the Orogun clan of the Urhobo ethnic group in Ughelli North local Government area of Delta State. He emerged the

of the 9th National Assembly on 11 June 2019 after he defeated his rival, Ike Ekweremadu with a margin of 31 votes to win the second leadership position of the National Assembly. Omo-Agege is the first senator from Delta State to emerge as Deputy Senate President, and also the first Delta Central senator to be written by Perry

Early life

Omo-Agege was born on 3 August 1963 in Delta State. He attended St. George Grammar school, Obinomba Obiaruku, Delta State.

Education

He graduated in 1985 from the University of Benin with a degree in Law. He was called to the

Nigerian bar The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

in 1986. In 2002, he obtained his master's degree in law from

Tulane University Law School Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. In addition to the usual common ...

Career

Omo-Agege was deployed to

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

for his

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, ...

(NYSC). He completed his NYSC with the Directorate of Criminal investigation and intelligence, Nigerian Police Force, Kwara State Command. Omo-Agege started his career in law by working with Pat Okupa & Co. in Lagos in 1987. In 1989, he co-founded a law firm; Agege & Co. Omo-Agege moved to the United States of America in 1990, where he worked as a foreign associate at Charles O Agege's law office in Los Angeles, California. He was called to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

, United States District Court and the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, Washington, DC. He returned to Nigeria in 1992 to establish Omo-Agege & Associates where he was also senior partner. In 1996, he merged his firm Omo-Agege & associates in a partnership resulting in the name Agege & Esin.

Political life

Omo-Agege started out in politics by contesting for the ticket to be a representative at the Delta State House of Representatives under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, a ticket he lost in the party primaries. In 2003, former governor of Delta State,

James Ibori James Onanefe Ibori (born 4 August 1959) is a Nigerian politician who was Governor of Delta State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. An ethnic Urhobo by descent, Ibori is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a leader ...

, appointed Omo-Agege as an executive assistant, a position he held for two years. He was later appointed as a commissioner for special duties by the governor. He ran for the office of the

Governor of Delta State This is a list of administrators and governors of Delta State, Nigeria, which was formed on 27 August 1991, when the old Bendel State was split into Edo State and Delta State. See also *Nigeria *States of Nigeria *List of state governors of ...

, but lost out at the People Democratic Party's primaries to Governor

Emmanuel Uduaghan Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan (born 22 October 1954) was the Governor of Delta State from 2007 to 2015. He assumed office via an inconclusive election on 29 May 2007 and was a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). A medical doctor by pro ...

. He was appointed as the Secretary to State Government of Delta State by Governor James Ibori in 2007. He ran for Senate in 2015 under the platform of the Labour Party. He was elected as a senator representing Delta central senatorial district on 28 March 2015. He defected from the Labour Party to

All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

(APC) on 7 March 2017. He was re-elected as the senator representing Delta Central in 2019 general elections. On 11 June 2019, he emerged as the new Deputy Senate President of the 9th National Assembly with 68 votes cast to beat Senator Ike Ekweremadu with 37 votes. The South-South caucus of the APC, on Thursday 28 November 2019 chose the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, as the leader of the party in the region.

Controversies

In 2018, he was accused of leading thugs to invade the

Nigerian Senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

Chambers and made away with the Senate Mace

Personal life

Omo-Agege is married to Rosemary Omo-Agege and they both have five children.

Awards and recognitions

In October 2022, Omo-Agege was conferred Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omo-Agege, Ovie Nigerian political candidates 1963 births Living people Nigerian Roman Catholics University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni Tulane University Law School alumni Members of the Senate (Nigeria) All Progressives Congress politicians Delta State politicians