Senator Ned Nwoko has appealed to the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to safeguard the mandate he claims was overwhelmingly bestowed on him by party members during the Delta North Senatorial District primary election.
In a statement released by his media office in Abuja on Sunday, Nwoko cautioned against any move to alter the outcome of the exercise through what he described as fabricated figures allegedly being circulated by political rivals.
The lawmaker maintained that he secured a decisive victory in the primary, claiming to have polled about 123,000 votes, while former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, garnered approximately 6,000 votes.
According to him, any attempt to reverse the result would disregard the wishes of APC members across the district and could weaken confidence in the party’s democratic process ahead of future elections.
Nwoko called on the APC National Working Committee and the party’s leadership to ensure fairness by respecting the outcome of the primary and preserving the credibility of the electoral process.
He further stated that the results could be independently verified through video recordings obtained from wards where the primaries were conducted, insisting that he emerged victorious in 97 of the 98 wards in Delta North.
Questioning the credibility of contrary claims, the senator argued that authenticated video evidence from polling locations should carry more weight than figures allegedly compiled by a panel.
Nwoko also urged the party to ignore what he termed misleading narratives and ensure that the final declaration reflects the choice made by party members.
The senator attributed his support base to confidence in his legislative performance and his advocacy for the creation of Anioma State. He further noted that he remained loyal to the APC before the defection of Okowa and other political figures from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Rejecting what he described as Okowa’s premature declaration of victory, Nwoko insisted that only the appropriate organs of the APC national leadership have the authority to collate, authenticate and announce the final results of the primary election.
He recalled that the APC National Organising Secretary had earlier outlined a structured process for result collation, beginning from the wards through local government and constituency levels before final collation at the party’s national headquarters.
The senator therefore urged the APC leadership to uphold party guidelines, protect the integrity of the primary election process and ensure that the final outcome reflects the will of members in Delta North.