…Senator’s team releases video evidence, ward records to support allegations of massive vote manipulation
Ned Nwoko’s camp has fired a direct salvo at the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming the Delta North Senatorial primary on May 18 was systematically rigged in favour of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
In a combative statement, the senator’s legal adviser Chris Okobah alleged that Nwoko had secured approximately 123,000 votes across the district’s 98 wards yet lost to Okowa, who purportedly received only about 5,000.
“There was no proper accreditation, no transparent voting, no honest counting and no genuine collation,” Okobah charged. “In many places, what they called an election was nothing more than a political fraud dressed in party colours.”
The camp claims to possess video documentation, agent reports, and ward-level tallies that contradict the officially announced results. Okobah said the evidence would prove “what truly happened across the entire senatorial district.”
According to the Nwoko team, the election’s problems predated election day itself. Okobah alleged that electoral officials were housed in government VIP accommodations and effectively placed under the control of state authorities, a claim that suggests systematic coordination rather than isolated abuses.
“Several returning officers were allegedly commissioners, advisers, assistants or persons connected to the state government,” Okobah stated, adding that many officials never appeared at polling venues once they witnessed the size of Nwoko’s delegate support.
The allegations extend beyond administration to voter conduct. Okobah cited widespread vote-buying, threats of party suspension, and intimidation of delegates as routine features of the exercise.
The senator’s legal team argues the result carries no legitimacy. “The result being circulated by state authorities and party officials is morally defective and democratically worthless,” Okobah said.
More provocatively, Okobah questioned Okowa’s eligibility to contest at all, citing pending court cases. He warned that allowing such a candidate to emerge would undermine the party’s standing with voters.
The camp’s statement carried an implicit warning to national leadership. Okobah invoked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s electoral fortunes, arguing that “the President risks losing Delta State if the party allows injustice and imposition to stand.”
Okobah’s closing remarks offered a philosophical rebuttal to what he framed as governor-driven autocracy:
“Democracy is not the private property of any governor. It is not the inheritance of political godfathers. It is not a weapon to be used against the people.”
The Nwoko camp is calling for a complete review of the primary process, cancellation of what it terms the “manipulated results,” and accountability for those involved in conducting the election.
Okobah appealed to regional identity in his final statement: “Anioma deserves democracy, not deception. Anioma deserves justice, not intimidation. Anioma deserves truth, not political robbery.”
The dispute now threatens to destabilize APC unity in Delta State ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Okobah warning that the party’s failure to address the grievances could carry “grave political consequences.”
