A former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has defended his controversial “rig and die” remark ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the statement was directed at electoral manipulators and not voters or security agencies.

 

Omo-Agege, through his Special Adviser on Strategy and Communications, Godwin Anaughe, described the expression as a warning against ballot theft, falsification of election results and other forms of electoral malpractice.

 

In a press statement, the former Delta Central senator accused the Delta State Government, some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and their media allies of deliberately misrepresenting his remarks as a call for violence.

 

He maintained that the statement was intended to encourage voters to defend their votes and resist attempts to undermine the democratic process in the 2027 elections.

 

## Omo-Agege Says ‘Rig and Die’ Targets Electoral Offenders

 

According to the statement, Omo-Agege’s remark was a declaration against those who allegedly manipulate election results, steal electoral materials or interfere with the counting and collation of votes.

 

The former deputy Senate president argued that voters were not the target of the statement, stressing that the expression was meant to discourage electoral offences and protect the people’s mandate.

 

He also invoked Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits the assumption of government power except in accordance with the Constitution, to support his argument that electoral integrity was essential to democratic governance.

 

The statement added that the era of alleged result manipulation, vote-buying, impersonation of security personnel and attempts to bypass the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) must end.

 

Omo-Agege’s camp insisted that any attempt to manipulate the 2027 election would be resisted through lawful and peaceful action by voters at polling units and collation centres.

 

## Tinubu, Buhari’s Past Remarks Cited in Defence

 

To support its position, Omo-Agege’s camp referenced previous statements attributed to President Bola Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari concerning electoral malpractice.

 

The statement recalled that Tinubu, while serving as the APC national leader in 2014, reportedly used the expression “rig and roast” in warning against electoral manipulation in Ekiti and Osun states.

 

It also cited Buhari’s remarks ahead of the 2019 general elections, when the former president warned against ballot-box snatching and directed security agencies to deal firmly with offenders.

 

Omo-Agege’s camp questioned why his own statement had attracted criticism, arguing that similar warnings by prominent political leaders had previously been defended as efforts to protect elections.

 

The comparison formed a central part of the statement’s argument that the reaction to Omo-Agege’s remark amounted to political hypocrisy.

 

However, the circumstances surrounding the different statements and the responses they generated remain distinct, and the comparison does not by itself determine whether the wording of any particular political statement could be interpreted as incitement.

 

## Dafinone’s Past Election Complaints Recalled

 

The statement also criticised Senator Ede Dafinone and members of his political camp over their reaction to Omo-Agege’s remarks.

 

It recalled the October 2013 Delta Central senatorial bye-election conducted to fill the seat left vacant following the death of Senator Pius Ewherido.

 

According to Omo-Agege’s camp, Dafinone, who contested the election on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), had complained at the time that voting did not take place as expected and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of withholding result sheets.

 

The statement argued that Dafinone’s alleged past objections to the conduct of an election contradicted the position his camp was now taking over Omo-Agege’s warning against electoral malpractice.

 

It further accused the senator’s associates of attempting to discredit Omo-Agege by revisiting the controversy surrounding the Senate mace incident in 2018.

 

## Omo-Agege Revisits 2018 Senate Mace Controversy

 

Addressing the incident in which the Senate mace was taken from the chamber in April 2018, the statement maintained that Omo-Agege’s presence in the Senate was connected to his opposition to what he considered an unlawful suspension.

 

His camp said he had obtained a Federal High Court judgment nullifying his suspension and argued that he was seeking to resume his legislative duties as an elected senator.

 

The statement denied that Omo-Agege went to the Senate to steal the mace and portrayed his actions as a defence of the Constitution, judicial authority and legislative independence.

 

It also cited his subsequent election as Deputy President of the Senate as evidence of the political support he enjoyed at the time.

 

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The defence comes as political actors continue to revisit past controversies while positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.

 

## Omo-Agege Repeats Allegations Over 2023 Delta Governorship Election

 

Omo-Agege’s camp also revisited the 2023 Delta State governorship election, alleging that he was denied victory through electoral manipulation.

 

The statement claimed that Omo-Agege won the election but was allegedly rigged out by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the eventual winner, Sheriff Oborevwori, with the support of influential political figures.

 

It specifically alleged irregularities in parts of Delta North Senatorial District, including Ika North, Ika South, Oshimili North and Oshimili South local government areas.

 

The statement said Omo-Agege pursued legal action after the election but alleged that the judicial process failed to deliver justice.

 

These claims represent the position of Omo-Agege’s camp and were not independently established by the statement.

 

The former senator further accused Oborevwori, who is now a member of the APC, of preparing to use similar tactics in 2027. He also criticised the state government’s spending, alleging that more than ₦5 trillion had been expended without commensurate results.

 

The statement did not provide a breakdown of the alleged expenditure or supporting documentation for the accusation.

 

## Calls on INEC, Security Agencies to Remain Impartial

 

As preparations for the 2027 elections approach, Omo-Agege’s camp called on INEC and security agencies to remain impartial and ensure that votes are accurately counted and results honestly collated.

 

It urged voters across Delta State, including those in Orogun, Uvwie, Udu, Ughelli, Sapele, Warri, Agbor and Asaba, to remain vigilant at polling units.

 

The statement said voters should ensure that election results reflect the ballots cast and that any attempt to manipulate the process is challenged through lawful means.

 

It also warned politicians against relying on electoral malpractice to secure victory, insisting that the outcome of the 2027 elections must be determined by voters rather than fabricated results.

 

## Omo-Agege Insists 2027 Election Must Reflect Voters’ Will

 

Concluding the statement, Omo-Agege’s camp maintained that the former senator would not withdraw his position on defending the electoral process.

 

It said the objective was to prevent electoral manipulation and ensure that the mandate of the people was respected.

 

The controversy over the “rig and die” expression highlights the competing political narratives emerging ahead of the 2027 elections in Delta State, where rival camps are already trading allegations over electoral credibility and political conduct.

 

Whether the phrase will be understood as a forceful warning against electoral malpractice or criticised as inflammatory political rhetoric is likely to remain a subject of debate as the election approaches.

 

Press Statement: 2027: ‘Rig And Die’ – In Defense Of Democracy

We have watched with amusement the contrived outrage by the Government of Delta State, some APC hirelings in Delta and their collaborators in the media over Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s principled declaration that in 2027, it will be ‘RIG AND DIE’.

2. Their fake tears, especially the comedy skit by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information and Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of Delta APC Campaign Council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu and the watery epistle from Senator Ede Dafinone’s camp, pretend that ‘RIG AND DIE’ is a call to violence. That is a lie. It is mischief. It is hypocrisy from people who rig for a living and their sponsors who want to remain in power perpetually at all cost.

3. ‘RIG AND DIE’ is not a threat to voters. Voters don’t rig elections. It is a threat to riggers who falsify election figures and results. Those who cart and run away with electoral materials. It is a patriotic warning to ballot thieves to stay away. It is a total rejection of electoral robbery and manipulation. It is a declaration that the criminal enterprise of rigging must be exterminated so that democracy will live. It is lawful. It is constitutional. It is consistent with the spirit of section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution which says Nigeria shall not be governed by anyone who takes power except in accordance with the Constitution.

4. To rig an election is treason. It is a coup against the people. It is political robbery. ‘RIG AND DIE’ simply entails every rigging machinery will be defeated and crushed by popular resistance. The era of writing results in Government House must end. The era of fake security personnel, fake INEC officials, vote buying and BVAS bypass must end. The plot to steal the people’s mandate will die at the polling unit where the people will stand to defend their votes.

5. The truth is simple: Oborevwori, Dafinone, Delta APC and indeed APC cannot win a free and fair election. Oborevwori has wasted over 5 trillion naira with nothing commensurate to show. Dafinone has no grassroots support and no legislative record to campaign with. Their only hope is to write results. That is why a call to defend votes sounds to them like a death sentence. A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

6. This language is not new. In April 2014, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then APC National Leader, warned that it would be “rig and roast” for riggers in Ekiti and Osun. In February 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari directed that ballot box snatchers should be shot at sight, that they would pay with their lives and ordered security agencies to deal ruthlessly with them. The Federal Executive Council backed him. Patriots hailed both statements as defence of democracy.

7. If Tinubu’s “rig and roast” was patriotic and Buhari’s shoot-at-sight order was official policy, how does Omo-Agege’s “rig and die” suddenly become anarchy? This is hypocrisy and selective amnesia.

8. On October 12, 2013, during the Delta Central bye-election to replace Senator Pius Ewherido of blessed memory, Dafinone himself as DPP candidate screamed that “There was no voting.” He accused INEC of withholding result sheets and called the poll a sham. Then, he knew rigging was evil. Today, because his camp hopes to benefit from it, he wants Deltans to embrace rigging. We will not.

9. They now blackmail Omo-Agege with the tired mace story out of ignorance and mischief. Let us put the facts on record. Omo-Agege’s presence on the floor of the Senate that day was in defence of democracy and against legislative tyranny. He had secured a valid judgment of the Federal High Court nullifying his illegal suspension by a high-handed Senate leadership. The court declared the suspension unconstitutional, unlawful and illegal. He did not go to steal a mace and did not steal a mace. He went to resume his seat as a duly elected Senator.

10. It was defence of the Constitution, defence of the judiciary, and defence of legislative independence. The courts afterwards completely exonerated him. That is why Deltans overwhelmingly returned him and his colleagues elected him Deputy President of the Senate – the highest office ever held by any Deltan.

11. Just as his action on the Senate floor was in defence of democracy and against tyranny, so also is RIG AND DIE in defence of democracy against ballot theft at the polling unit. Both defend Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

12. Let us be clear: Senator Ovie Omo-Agege did not threaten voters. He did not threaten INEC or the police. He warned the criminal enterprise that thinks it can intimidate voters, buy votes, bring in thugs dressed in police uniform, and write results. That enterprise will not survive in Delta in 2027. This you can take to the bank.

13. Omo-Agege has earned the right to be angry. In 2023, he won the Delta Governorship election on lawful ballots. Deltans wanted to end eight disastrous years of Okowa’s misrule. Okowa and his political stooge, Sheriff Oborevwori, working with compromised APC big wigs rigged him out with state funds and fake results in Delta North Senatorial District especially in Ika North, Ika South, Oshimili North and Oshimili South. As a law-abiding leader, he went to court. The system protected the riggers.

14. Today, Sheriff, wearing APC clothes but PDP at heart, is plotting the same script for 2027 with his 5 trillion naira war chest. That is why Omo-Agege says there will be no court this time. We will defend our votes at the polling units and collation centers. That is lawful. That is constitutional.

15. We call on INEC and the security agencies to be impartial. Protect voters, count votes accurately, and collate honestly.

16. From Orogun to Uvwie, Udu to Ughelli, Sapele to Warri, Agbor to Asaba, every polling unit will be locked down by vigilant voters. Count the votes and announce as counted.

17. To the riggers in Government House and in APC, including Dafinone’s camp whose principal only became senator in 2023 because leaders like Omo-Agege stood firm against rigging – stop your rigging plans. 2027 will be decided by ballots, not by written results.

18. In 2027, the people must decide. Their votes must count. Their mandate must stand. Every attempt to rig will be met with lawful, peaceful and resolute resistance at the polling units. The rigging will be exterminated. The people’s mandate will live.

19. Omo-Agege has no apology. He spoke the mind of Nigerians. As a man who laboured in the Senate to reform our electoral laws, he cannot be silenced and watch riggers continue to steal the people’s mandate.

20. RIG AND DIE IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY.

Signed:
Godwin Anaughe
Special Adviser, Strategy and Communications to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege