The incumbent senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, has alleged that the APC primaries in Delta State were manipulated by the state government to favour preferred candidates and undermine internal party democracy.

Following the recent APC primaries in Delta State for the senatorial race, while speaking in an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, the senator expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise, claiming the process lacked transparency and fairness.

“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,” he alleged.

Senator Nwoko further stated that his camp possesses copies of the ward-by-ward results as well as video evidence from the primaries, adding that the materials had already been submitted.

“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. We’ll announce the results. And so, we thought we’d be law-abiding. And suddenly, we saw some news. We saw only that one video—of one of the wards in Ika North East, which is a ward where the major assistant known to everybody that worked with the Governor, they are from that particular village, next to the Governor’s village. It was just one video, showing three people in a line, and then the rest that were probably not more than 500. That’s what I saw in the video. Although in the result, they said there were 5,000,” he explained.

Nwoko maintained that the video showing Ifeanyi Okowa being declared winner represented only one ward out of the 98 wards involved in the exercise. He challenged party officials to release results and supporting evidence from the remaining wards to ensure transparency and accountability in the process.

“I want you to understand something. The video that you saw, where Ifeanyi Okowa was announced as the winner, just one video from one ward out of 98 wards. Maybe they should show us other videos. They must show us the figures,” he insisted.

The senator said he would reject any outcome upheld by the APC national leadership if it contradicts what he described as the genuine mandate of party members at the primaries.

“I wouldn’t accept. Because I have a mandate. I have a mandate by the people,” he said.

Responding to allegations of intimidation and violence in areas considered to be his strongholds, Sen. Nwoko described reports of intimidation and violence during the primaries as isolated incidents that did not affect the overall outcome.

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

Nwoko explained he left the PDP due to limited freedom to operate as a senator, alleging interference in projects and decision-making by the state leadership.

“I was in PDP. I got elected as a PDP Senator. But I realized that my people there—the Governor, Okowa himself—you know, didn’t allow me to operate freely.”

Speaking on the outcome of the primaries, Sen. Nwoko insisted that high voter turnout and video evidence from across wards demonstrated clear support for his candidacy in all 98 wards.

“They came out in mass to vote for me. It’s also an indication of who they want. I’m referring to all the videos! I hope that you should also have some videos to show you. As simple as that,” he maintained.

Commenting on the contested results, he expressed confidence that the President would intervene to review the process, while maintaining that he remained committed to the party and would not act against its interests.

“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 of this: I’m sure that the President will intervene in this matter.”

Adding, he said: “We have submitted the results from the 98 wards, with the videos. I’m not worried. I’m not thinking about working against the party, and I wouldn’t do that because of the interest of the people that make up the party, the masses. And of course, I said because also I am confident that the President will intervene in a matter of this nature,” he emphasised.

Speaking on APC politics in Delta State, Sen. Nwoko said President Tinubu is aware of problems in the state, including tension between old and new party members.

“The President knows what’s happening in Delta. He knows that the legacy APC members have been shoved aside by the new PDP guys that came into the party. He knows that they control the party. He knows that there are fundamental problems in Delta,” Nwoko said.

He also said he was promised proper inclusion when he moved to the APC, including fair integration into the party structure and internal arrangements for power-sharing, but claimed these expectations were not fully met.

“I myself and others were promised by the former Chairman. Alhaji Oyegun, that there would be discussions on the new structure of the party. We had meetings with him and other leaders of the party and we were assured that there would be some power-sharing formula. We were even told, for example, that the state EXCO would be dissolved and that there would be nominations to enable the old APC to sort of get a foothold into the government. But that was never done. It was never done,” he revealed.

Insisting that he would not accept any result that contradicts the evidence he has seen, Sen. Nwoko said the dispute concerns only limited ward results and maintained that, while he could not win every ward, he believes he secured the majority.

“No. I would not concede. Because I was there. If you have the evidence—I have the video. We won the primary. I couldn’t have won his ward. That would be foolhardy of me to think I would win his ward. But the majority? Of course, yes,” he insisted.

Stating that the national party would do what is necessary, Sen. Nwoko said it was unreasonable to base a declaration on just one ward and argued that results from all 98 wards should be considered before any conclusion is made.

“How could you base your—your declaration of a result on one ward? One ward. That particular ward that you know belongs to Governor Okowa. There are many other 97 other wards. Why don’t you just find out what happened in them?”, he concluded. (AriseNews TV)

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