“The process was manipulated” – Ned Nwoko rejects APC senatorial primary won by Okowa

Senator Ned Nwoko has rejected the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election for Delta North won by former governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Nwoko, the incumbent senator, alleged that the primary election was manipulated to favour Okowa.

He said: “The process was manipulated from day one. The state government. It’s something that they conspired to produce results for what they saw, or what they produced.”

The senator claimed that he defeated Okowa in the exercise and said his camp possesses ward-by-ward results and video evidence from the primary election, adding that the materials had already been submitted to relevant authorities.

His words: “We have submitted them. Halfway through the primary, we got a message on our phones that no results should be announced at the ward level — that they should be collected and then announced later at the national in Abuja. And suddenly, we saw some news.”

Nwoko said only one video from a ward in Ika north-east LGA was circulated to validate the declared outcome of the election.

“We saw only that one video — of one of the wards in Ika North East. It was just one video although in the result, they said there were 5,000,” he said.

The lawmaker said the circulated footage represented only one ward out of the 98 wards involved in the primary election.

“I want you to understand something. The video that you saw… just one video from one ward out of 98 wards. They must show us the figures,” he stated.

Nwoko added that he would not accept any result upheld by the APC national leadership if it contradicted what he described as the genuine mandate of party members.

“I wouldn’t accept. Because I have a mandate. I have a mandate by the people,” the serving senator stated.

The senator described reports of violence during the exercise as isolated incidents that did not significantly affect the outcome of the election.

“They were just isolated cases, maybe in about 10 wards out of 98. Not enough to make a difference,” he noted.

Nwoko also spoke on his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleging that he faced restrictions from the Delta state government while serving as senator under the platform.

“I was in PDP. I got elected as a PDP senator but I realized that my people there — the Governor, Okowa himself — didn’t allow me to operate freely,” he lamented.

The lawmaker reaffirmed his loyalty to the APC and expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would intervene in the dispute.

“I’m not going to say I’m going to work against the party; I’m going to work for the party. But I can assure you the President will intervene in this matter,” he stated.