Senator Ned Nwoko has alleged that there are plans to manipulate the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary election in Delta North ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nwoko is seeking the APC ticket alongside former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC last year.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Director General of the Ned Nwoko Campaign Organisation, Ekene Kerry, the senator accused agents of the Delta State Government of attempting to frustrate what he described as the will of the people.
According to the statement, despite Nwoko’s alleged popularity in the district, forces within the state government were working against his emergence as the APC candidate.
“The Delta State government has made it a priority to block his emergence,” the statement claimed.
The campaign organisation further alleged that former Governor Okowa was behind the moves, accusing him of seeking a return to the Senate despite what it described as rejection by voters during the 2023 elections.
“They are acting on the orders of former Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who has declared his intent to return to the Senate despite his rejection by Deltans in 2023,” the statement added.
Nwoko’s camp also alleged that the APC panel deployed to supervise the primary election had been compromised.
“The panel sent to conduct the primaries has been held hostage,” the campaign organisation alleged.
It further claimed that state government officials and appointees had allegedly been positioned as returning officers at ward and local government levels to manipulate results in favour of Okowa.
According to the statement, there were also alleged plans to ignore directives from the APC national headquarters regarding the transmission of results to Abuja.
“There are threats to defy the APC National Headquarters directive to transmit all results to Abuja, out of fear of Senator Nwoko’s popularity,” it stated.
The campaign additionally alleged that some of its supporters had been threatened with violence ahead of the exercise.
It therefore called on the APC national leadership and security agencies to ensure that the primary election is conducted in a transparent, peaceful and credible manner.
“Let it be clear: No one has a monopoly on violence, as our supporters will not be intimidated nor cowed into supporting a former governor rejected by his people in 2023,” the statement said.
The organisation also urged Nwoko’s supporters across Delta North to remain peaceful and participate fully in the primary process.
