Senator Omo-Agege, formerly of the All Progressives Congress (APC), contested in the APC Senatorial Primary Elections held on Monday, 18 May 2026, for the Delta State Central Senatorial District ticket in the 2027 general elections. He lost to his opponent.
On 10 May 2026, the 21-day deadline given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to political parties to submit their digitalised registers expired. These registers were required to contain the names, dates of birth, wards, local governments, passport photographs, emails, phone numbers, and National Identification Numbers of members before congresses could be convened for the nomination of candidates. It is therefore presumed that APC submitted its digital register to INEC on 10 May 2026, and that register was used to conduct the Senatorial Primary Elections on 18 May 2026 in which Senator Omo-Agege participated.
Following his defeat, Senator Omo-Agege resigned from APC by a letter dated 22 May 2026, addressed to the Ward Chairman of APC Orogun Ward 2, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. He immediately defected to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and vowed to participate in its Primary Elections scheduled for 29 May 2026.
Section 77(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 makes it mandatory for political parties to maintain a digital register of their members. Section 77(2) further provides that only members whose names appear in the register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or be voted for in party primaries. The critical question, therefore, is whether APC deleted Senator Omo-Agege’s name from its digital register before his defection to the NDC.
If by 29 May 2026 his name had not been deleted from the APC register, serious consequences could arise. His eligibility to contest in the NDC primaries could be legally challenged by opponents, potentially invalidating his candidacy. Section 115(d) of the Electoral Act criminalises multiple declarations of party membership, meaning that if his name remained in APC’s register while he sought nomination in NDC, he could face disqualification or even prosecution.
Timing also raises complications. Since INEC must have collected the NDC’s digital register on or before 10 May 2026, the question arises: when did Senator Omo-Agege register with the NDC, given that he only resigned from APC on 22 May 2026? If his resignation took effect on that date, time would begin to run from 23 May 2026, making it practically impossible for his name to have been included in the NDC register submitted earlier to INEC.
Another issue is whether APC Orogun Ward has the capacity to delete his name from the digital register without recourse to the national secretariat. Section 77(3) requires that registers be maintained at both ward and national levels, suggesting that deletion may require coordination with the national secretariat. Still, in law, a letter of resignation may suffice to terminate membership immediately, though administrative deletion of the name from the register is necessary to avoid disputes.
The scenario becomes even more intriguing if Senator Omo-Agege’s opponents in the NDC challenge his membership status during the primaries. If APC Orogun Ward failed to delete his name before his defection, his dual membership could be construed as a violation of the Electoral Act, thereby undermining his candidacy.
CONCLUSION
Senator Omo-Agege’s defection highlights the tension between political ambition and statutory compliance under the Electoral Act 2026. His eligibility to contest the NDC primaries depends on whether his resignation from APC took immediate effect, whether APC updated its digital register accordingly, and whether his name lawfully appeared in the NDC register submitted to INEC before 10 May 2026. Any lapse could provide fertile ground for disqualification, litigation, or even criminal liability.
