By Hyacinth Eku
Abuja
The media team of Senator Ned Nwoko has reacted sharply to reports of his defeat in the All Progressives Congress senatorial primaries in Delta State, cautioning those celebrating the victory of rival candidates to exercise restraint and warning that premature announcements could run foul of the law.
Chief Tonnie Oganah, media director of the Anioma state creation project championed by Senator Nwoko, said the official and authentic results of the exercise conducted on Monday could only be announced from the APC national headquarters in Abuja and signed by the party chairman. He insisted there were no factions within the party whose results could be taken as definitive.
Oganah argued that all candidates in the election had their respective strongholds and that announcing partial results amounted to half-truths, which he described as embellished lies capable of misleading the public. His remarks align with the position earlier staked out by the APC National Secretariat, which issued a disclaimer declaring all results being circulated in the media unauthorised.
The National Secretariat directed the public to disregard the circulating results pending formal review, verification and approval by the National Working Committee in Abuja. Beyond the procedural arguments, the statement made a broader political case for Nwoko’s continued relevance and indispensability to the Anioma cause.
According to Oganah, Nwoko symbolises the Anioma dream of identity and economic liberation, with an ambitious vision to expand Anioma’s political representation from one senator and three House of Representatives members to three senators and nine federal lawmakers. The plan also envisages a tripling of state assembly members and councillors, the creation of new local government areas and the retention of Asaba as the capital of the proposed Anioma State.
The statement further reminded party stakeholders that Nwoko was among the first prominent politicians in Delta State to openly declare support for President Bola Tinubu and the APC, well ahead of others who later joined. Oganah said that at the appropriate time during the January 2027 elections, the entire Anioma nation would demonstrate its gratitude by voting APC across the board.
He added that Anioma people were neither short-sighted nor susceptible to the crumbs and inducements being offered by rival candidates. In what appeared to be a veiled warning directed at his political opponents, Oganah stressed that the APC constitution and Nigeria’s electoral laws were clear on the requirements for valid party membership.
He noted that clear evidence of resignation from a former political party must exist in the public domain before membership of a new party could be considered valid. Oganah added pointedly that membership of two or more political parties was an offence under the law and that no one was above it, a remark widely interpreted as a challenge to the eligibility of some candidates in the primaries.
Oganah concluded by emphasising that the party remained supreme and would consider several factors before officially naming its flagbearer, including the absence of any pending EFCC cases or criminal matters against the candidate. The statement cast Nwoko’s ambition not merely as a personal political project but as a generational imperative for the Anioma people.
Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District, has raised the alarm over alleged manipulation of the process ahead of the APC primary election in the zone. Nwoko is contesting alongside former governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC last year.
In a statement issued by Ekene Kerry, Director General of his Campaign Organisation on Monday morning, Nwoko said agents of the state government were hell-bent on truncating the will of the people. The office said that despite earning the trust of the people, the Delta State government had made it a priority to block his emergence, acting on the orders of Okowa.
Stakeholders of the APC in Delta North Senatorial District have also rejected what they described as the “self-declared victory” of Okowa, insisting that Nwoko overwhelmingly won the party’s senatorial primaries across the district. In a statement signed by Engr. Emma Eboh of the Ned Nwoko Media Office, they accused Okowa of attempting to undermine due process by announcing himself the winner before the completion of official collation.
The stakeholders said results collated from various wards across Delta North clearly showed that Nwoko secured an overwhelming majority of votes. They cited Ward 7 in Ndokwa West, where Nwoko allegedly polled 1,281 votes against Okowa’s 26, and Ward 10 in Idumuesa, Ika North East, where Nwoko reportedly secured 2,719 votes against 13. Other results highlighted included Oshimili South Ward 6, with 5,398 votes for Nwoko against 53, and Oshimili South Ward 5, with 4,642 against 101.
The group further alleged that the exercise was marred by intimidation, violence, and attempts to suppress support for Nwoko in some areas. They claimed incidents occurred in Ward 9, Obiaruku in Ukwuani LGA, and Ward 8 of Aniocha North LGA, and called on the APC leadership to intervene and ensure justice, insisting that the will of APC members across Delta North must not be distorted.
