Charles Ehiedu, a Delta State Commissioner, has revealed that Senator Ned Nwoko was actively supported by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other stakeholders during his 2023 senatorial campaign, describing the arrangement as a political scholarship.…....
Ehiedu explained that Okowa personally appealed to leaders across the 98 wards in Delta North to rally behind Nwoko, largely because Nwoko had previously defeated Okowa in the 2011 PDP primaries and had long nursed senatorial ambitions.
According to a report by Channels on Thursday, May 21, 2026, Ehiedu stated bluntly that “Ned Nwoko never gave anybody 10 kobo. We used our money to mobilize for him,” insisting that the senator never spent a personal penny on his own campaign.
The commissioner clarified his earlier scholarship remark, explaining that just as scholarship recipients have their fees paid by others, Nwoko’s entire political journey to the Senate was funded and orchestrated entirely by supporters who received nothing in return afterward.
Ehiedu further alleged that Nwoko showed no appreciation to the over 65 traditional rulers across Delta North, stating, “when I said that he did not even present even a 3-month-old goat, not to talk of a cow, to any of the about 65 traditional rulers in Delta North, go and also fact-check me.”
He challenged anyone to verify whether Nwoko conducted any empowerment programs across his constituency during his nearly three years as a sitting senator representing the district.
The commissioner also accused Nwoko of abandoning his political responsibilities, noting that the senator failed to return home even to vote during the House of Representatives election featuring Ndudi Elumelu, a candidate from a neighbouring community.
Ehiedu contrasted this sharply with Okowa’s conduct, saying the former governor was “very busy, crisscrossing not only the nine local governments that make up this senatorial district,” maintaining direct contact with no fewer than 20 persons per ward continuously since leaving office.
The evidence of grassroots neglect ultimately sealed Nwoko’s political fate in the primaries. Okowa’s consistent attendance at weddings, burials, and community events across Delta North demonstrated a disciplined political presence that Nwoko could not match.
While Nwoko reportedly remained in Abuja even as the primary election approached, Okowa interfaced actively with political appointees, ward leaders, and ordinary residents alike, illustrating how sustained grassroots engagement, not status alone, determines electoral outcomes in Nigerian politics.
