Delta APC Primary: Ned Nwoko Camp Rejects Okowa’s Victory Claim, Alleges Massive Manipulation

.Claims senator won with “overwhelming support” across Delta North 

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Fresh controversy has erupted within the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the disputed senatorial primary for Delta North, as supporters of Senator Ned Nwoko rejected the outcome declaring former governor Ifeanyi Okowa winner of the contest.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja on behalf of the Nwoko camp, the Senator’s political associate and Legal Adviser, Dr. Chris Okobah, alleged that the primary election conducted on May 18 was marred by widespread irregularities, intimidation, inducement of delegates and manipulation of results.

Okobah described the exercise as “a theatre of fraud,” insisting that the process fell short of democratic standards.

According to him, supporters of Nwoko independently monitored the exercise across the senatorial district and concluded that the senator enjoyed overwhelming support among delegates.

He claimed that the official figures being circulated did not reflect what transpired during the primary. 

“What should have been a peaceful democratic exercise became a theatre of manipulation, intimidation, vote-buying and deliberate obstruction of the people’s choice,” he said.

The Nwoko camp further alleged that some electoral officials failed to conduct proper accreditation and collation in several wards, claiming that results were allegedly prepared before voting commenced.

Okobah also accused some party officials and government appointees of influencing the process in favour of Okowa, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC alongside Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other political stakeholders in the state.

He said the group had already lodged an appeal before the party’s appeal committee, stressing that they would pursue all available internal mechanisms before deciding on further legal action.

He said, “We do not believe in violence. We have taken the appropriate step by approaching the appeal panel because we believe the process can still be corrected.

The Nwoko camp maintained that it possessed video recordings, agents’ reports and testimonies from across the district to support its claims of irregularities during the exercise.

Okobah warned that unresolved grievances within the Delta APC could weaken party cohesion ahead of the 2027 general election, especially in Delta North which he described as a critical voting bloc in the state.

He said the integration of former PDP structures into the APC without adequate harmonisation had created deep divisions between longstanding APC members and recent defectors.

According to him, failure by the party leadership to address the concerns raised by aggrieved stakeholders could undermine APC’s electoral prospects in Delta State.

“The party must be careful not to create a divided house. If these issues are ignored, it could have consequences for the APC in Delta State ahead of 2027,” he said.

The former governor and the APC leadership in Delta State had yet to officially respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.