Ahead of the 2027 elections, three top Delta North politicians former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, former Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, and current Senator Ned Nwoko are sizing each other up for political dominance. Nwaoboshi had switched from the PDP to APC in 2021, fearing Okowa would block his Senate return. However, a court conviction over a loan case stopped his 2023 ambitions. Nwoko, with Okowa’s support at the time, stepped in and won the Delta North Senate seat, only for the Supreme Court to later clear Nwaoboshi of any wrongdoing.
Nwoko soon fell out with Okowa, accusing him of dominating appointments and opposing the push for Anioma State. In January 2024, Nwoko defected from the PDP to APC, saying he needed ruling party backing to get development projects and Anioma State created. Ironically, Okowa also joined the APC in April 2025 with other PDP leaders, collapsing the party’s structure in Delta. Now, all three rivalsOkowa, Nwaoboshi, and Nwoko find themselves in the same party, struggling to trust one another.
At a recent APC meeting in Nwoko’s hometown, some leaders endorsed him as the 2027 senatorial candidate. However, Okowa and Nwaoboshi didn’t attend or send representatives. Their absence highlighted the division in the party, especially after a group of APC local government chairmen rejected Nwoko’s endorsement and called for Deputy Governor Onyeme to lead Delta North politics. This deepened the struggle over who controls the APC in the region.
The APC senatorial chairman, Eluaka, responded by dissolving the chairmen’s forum, calling it illegal and divisive. Nwaoboshi, breaking his silence, fired back at Eluaka, accusing him of acting like a dictator and ignoring proper party procedures. He criticized Eluaka’s endorsement of Nwoko without wider consultation. As the 2027 race draws near, the three political heavyweights are locked in a tense power game, each planning his next move in a crowded and divided Delta North APC.
