Ned Nwoko has rejected the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election in Delta North, alleging that the results announced by the party were prepared before the election was conducted.
Nwoko, through his legal adviser, Chris Okobah, made the allegation on Friday in Abuja while addressing journalists over the controversy surrounding the APC primary election held on Monday.
The primary election produced former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as the winner of the APC senatorial ticket for Delta North.
According to the results announced by the party, Okowa polled 113,309 votes, while Nwoko secured 2,612 votes.
However, the Nwoko camp has strongly rejected the figures, insisting that the process was manipulated and lacked credibility.
Speaking on behalf of the senator, Okobah alleged that the results declared by the APC were already prepared before delegates and party members went to vote.
“The results they are parading were written before the election day,” he claimed.
He described the primary election as neither free, fair nor transparent, alleging that the process was marred by intimidation, violence, vote-buying and deliberate obstruction of party members from expressing their true choice.
“The senatorial primary election held on the 18th of May 2026 cannot, by any honest standard, be described as free, fair, credible, or transparent,” Okobah said.
“What should have been a peaceful democratic exercise became a theatre of manipulation, intimidation, vote-buying, violence, and deliberate obstruction of the people’s choice.”
According to him, there was no proper accreditation of voters, a transparent voting process, an honest counting of votes or a genuine collation during the election.
He further claimed that Senator Nwoko actually won the primary election with about 123,000 votes, while Okowa allegedly secured around 5,000 votes.
Okobah disclosed that the senator and his supporters had already submitted a petition to the APC appeal committee through the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism.
“We have taken the appropriate step; we have written to the appeal panel. That is the appropriate way to go,” he stated.
“We don’t believe in unleashing violence to cure any wrong. So, the best thing we did was to appeal.”
He explained that the appeal was filed within the required timeframe to avoid any procedural issues that could affect the petition.
“The time was limited. If you don’t file early enough, it becomes defective by virtue of filing out of time,” he said.
According to him, the next step would depend on the decision of the APC appeal committee.
He noted that if the party fails to address their complaints satisfactorily, the Nwoko camp may proceed to court to challenge the election results.
“You go through the party mechanism, and then when you’re not satisfied, you can go to court. Maybe they will cure the assumed defect. But if they don’t and we feel unsatisfied, then we have video evidence to challenge the results,” Okobah added.
The legal adviser also claimed that the Nwoko camp possesses video recordings, reports from polling agents and ward-level election records across the 98 wards in Delta North Senatorial District to support its allegations.
He warned that sidelining Nwoko could create deeper divisions within the APC in Delta North and affect the party’s chances in future elections.
“Where you have a divided house, it’s not going to work,” he said.
“Senator Ned Nwoko is the absolute mobiliser in Delta North. If you are now trying to push him out of the party or shut him down, that is a recipe for disaster for the party.”
Okobah also referenced existing corruption allegations against Okowa, insisting that the former governor should not have been cleared to participate in the APC senatorial primary election.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC appeal committee had not publicly responded to the allegations raised by the Nwoko camp.
