REVISITING NED NWOKO’S ROLE IN PDP’S ELECTORAL FORTUNES IN DELTA, BY MICHAEL NWOKO

In politics, memory is often the first casualty of ambition. Narratives are reshaped to suit present convenience, and those who bore the burden of yesterday’s victories are sometimes recast as mere beneficiaries rather than builders. It has therefore become necessary to restate, calmly but firmly, the incontrovertible role played by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko in the electoral successes of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, particularly as they relate to the rise and consolidation of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and the party’s long dominance in Anioma. That era has now given way to a necessary political realignment, following the erosion of internal discipline and the brazen corruption of party structures that made reform from within untenable, hence the inevitable shift that has now seen the APC eclipse the PDP in Delta State, with Senator Ned Nwoko firmly positioned in the new political order. To suggest, however, that he merely rode on the back of PDP victories rather than helped to midwife them is to confuse the drummer with the dancer.

By 2019, it was already common knowledge within political circles that Senator Ned was not the preferred senatorial candidate of the then governor, Dr. Okowa. The signs were clear, the system was aligned elsewhere, and the primaries were anything but a level playing field. At that moment, fate presented him with an alternative path paved with tempting assurances. He was offered the senatorial ticket of the APC, complete with guarantees that would have made his campaign financially effortless. Beyond that, there were promises of settling long-standing federal obligations owed to him and even the lure of a ministerial appointment should the election not go his way. For many politicians, this would have been an easy crossing, after all, politics has no permanent loyalties, only permanent interests.

Yet Senator Ned chose the harder road. He understood, perhaps more deeply than most, the delicate political arithmetic of Delta North. He knew that his defection would not merely be a personal decision but a seismic shift that could pull a significant portion of Anioma voters with him, particularly at the grassroots where party distinctions are often blurred. Such a move, he reasoned, could fatally weaken the PDP and cost Anioma its governorship seat. In his estimation, losing the governorship would be a far greater injury to the collective interest of Anioma than his personal failure to secure a senatorial ticket. As our people will say, a man who knows where the rain began to beat him understands where to dry his body. He therefore resolved to remain in PDP, even when it was clear to all and sundry that he was swimming against the tide.

When the 2019 PDP primaries eventually produced an outcome that many regarded as manifestly unjust, Prince Ned still refused to burn the house because of a leaking roof. Instead of walking away in bitterness, he made a decision that separated statesmanship from mere ambition. He collapsed his formidable campaign structure and redirected it towards delivering Dr. Okowa’s re-election. From this sacrifice was born *Operation Return Okowa (ORO)* , a well thought out, strategically executed grassroots mobilisation effort that bore the unmistakable imprint of Senator Ned’s organisational depth and financial commitment. The ORO plan code was driven by a singular objective, to ensure that Delta North did not lose the governorship. Prince Ned funded this operation heavily and stood by it until the final results were announced and Dr. Okowa emerged victorious.

Consistency, they say, is the true measure of character. In 2023, Senator Ned again demonstrated that his commitment to the PDP and to Anioma was neither episodic nor transactional. Having secured his seat in the 10th Senate, he did not retreat into the comfort of office or adopt the aloofness that often accompanies electoral success. Instead, he remained actively engaged in the state, investing substantial time and resources to support the PDP’s governorship and House of Assembly elections. He traversed communities, energised party structures, and went further to engage students and young people across campuses.

It is therefore both ironic and disingenuous to now circulate narratives that invert the sequence of events, portraying Senator Ned as a political dependent rather than a dependable pillar. One does not harvest where one did not plant, nor does one mock the bridge that made the crossing possible. Politics, though not governed by sentiment, is sustained by memory and reciprocity. Senator Ned has, at critical moments, placed party unity and Anioma’s collective interest above personal ambition, even when the personal cost was high and the reward uncertain.

As the proverb goes, you do not change a winning horse midstream. Anioma planted wisely when it invested in Senator Ned Nwoko. The prudent course is to allow that investment to mature, for history has a way of vindicating those who chose sacrifice over sabotage and principle over personal gain.

Dr. Michael Nwoko
Chief of Staff to Distinguished Senator Prince Ned Munir Nwoko
Convener/National Coordinator, Youth Structure for Asiwaju (YS4A)