Former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege has expressed support for Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election while acknowledging that some of President Bola Tinubu’s controversial economic reforms were necessary.
Omo-Agege said his political preference for Obi does not prevent him from recognising the difficult decisions taken by the current administration to address long-standing economic challenges.
Responding to questions about why Nigerians should trust his endorsement of Obi after publicly supporting President Tinubu’s economic policies only weeks earlier, the former Delta Central senator said his views on the reforms had not changed.
“I was a member of the APC. I never left the APC; the party left me and left my over 230,000 supporters in Delta State,” he said.
According to Omo-Agege, he remains convinced that some of the administration’s most significant economic decisions, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, were necessary reforms.
“When Mr President came up with the economic policies, most especially the naira floatation and subsidy removal, these are policies I supported and continue to support,” he stated.
The former deputy senate president noted, however, that support for those policies should not be seen as exclusive to the APC or President Tinubu, arguing that Obi had also advocated similar economic measures.
“Even though these policies were espoused by Mr President, which I support, the same policies were also supported by Peter Obi,” he said.
Omo-Agege stressed that his endorsement of Obi was not based on a rejection of the reforms but on his belief that Nigerians would have greater confidence in their implementation under the former Anambra State governor.
“The question is, have I changed my opinion about this? No, I have not,” he said.
“I just believe that under the new platform I’ve gone to, these policies will continue and the people, the majority of Nigerians who have issues with those policies, would feel more confident because they are more comfortable and trust Peter Obi that he will make these policies work more than Mr President could have done.”
He further defended the reforms, insisting that the policies themselves were not the problem.
“The policies are not bad policies,” Omo-Agege added.
