Former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has emerged winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Delta North Senatorial Primary ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okowa secured a landslide victory over incumbent senator, Ned Nwoko, and fellow aspirant, Dr. Maryam Ali, during the primary election conducted across the nine local government areas of Delta North Senatorial District.
Announcing the results on Monday, the APC Returning Officer, Prof. Johnbull Tonukari, declared Okowa winner after polling a total of 113,309 votes in the exercise.
According to the results announced, Nwoko secured 2,612 votes, while Maryam Ali managed only 40 votes across the district.
Tonukari stated that the primary election was conducted peacefully, with delegates voting in all nine local government areas that make up the senatorial district.
He explained that Okowa established an early lead and maintained dominance throughout the exercise, winning convincingly in nearly all the councils announced during the collation process.
In Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Okowa polled 9,436 votes, while Nwoko received 79 votes and Ali secured 15 votes.
The former governor also recorded a strong performance in Ika South, where he scored 9,763 votes against Nwoko’s 19 votes, while Ali failed to secure any vote.
In Oshimili North Local Government Area, Okowa polled 13,110 votes to further extend his lead. Nwoko received 287 votes in the council area, while Ali again recorded no vote.
Tonukari added that Okowa continued his dominance in Ukwuani Local Government Area with 12,167 votes, leaving Nwoko with 105 votes and Ali without any vote.
One of the biggest surprises of the primary came from Nwoko’s own local government area, where Okowa defeated the incumbent senator on his home turf.
Okowa secured 5,480 votes in the council, while Nwoko polled 1,343 votes.
The returning officer also announced that Okowa swept through Aniocha South and Oshimili South local government areas with 10,353 votes and 11,616 votes respectively.
Nwoko polled 168 votes in Aniocha South and 74 votes in Oshimili South, while Ali made little impact in both councils.
In Ika North East, Okowa recorded one of his highest vote totals with 26,185 votes, while Nwoko secured only 24 votes and Ali failed to record any vote.
The former governor also won comfortably in Ndokwa West, polling 15,199 votes against Nwoko’s 513 votes.
Following the declaration of results, APC chieftain in Delta State, Mr. Eugene Odo, formally declared Okowa winner of the primary election, describing the exercise as peaceful, transparent, and credible.
He commended party members for maintaining order throughout the process and praised security personnel and electoral officials for ensuring a smooth exercise across the district.
Some party members who spoke after the primary also described the exercise as orderly and largely violence-free.
