*Dafinone Wins Too, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas Almost There
Former governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who was running mate to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has defeated incumbent senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, during Monday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate primary and picked up the party’s ticket for the 2027 general elections.
Okowa polled 113,309 votes while Nwoko scored 2,612 votes, with a third contestant, Mariam Ali, securing 40 votes.
The primary election was conducted using the direct primary system under Option A4, with voting held across all the wards in the eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) that make up the senatorial district.
The exercise witnessed massive participation by party members and was widely described as credible, peaceful and transparent.
Announcing the results for Delta North, the Returning Officer, Mr Eugene Odo, said having satisfied all the requirements of the party and having secured the highest number of valid votes cast in the primary, Senator Okowa “is hereby declared the winner of the Delta North Senatorial District primary election.”
Also, Senator representing Delta Central district, Ede Dafinone, emerged victorious in the primary for Delta Central, defeating former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, by a landslide margin.
Announcing the results, Secretary of the APC National Assembly Primary Committee, Barr. Nusa Amagbor, said Senator Dafinone polled an overwhelming 116,252 votes to defeat Omo-Agege, who secured 3,643 votes.
Amagbor said: “By the powers conferred on me as the Secretary of the National Assembly Electoral Committee for Delta State, duly constituted by our National Chairman and the National Working Committee, I hereby affirm that the exercise has been successfully conducted.
“Based on the authenticated results before me, Senator Ede Dafinone scored a total of 116,252 votes, his opponent scored a total of 3,643 votes.
“Having satisfied all the requirements of our great party and having secured the highest number of valid votes cast in this primary, Senator Ede Dafinone is hereby declared the winner of the Delta Central Senatorial District primary election.”
Meanwhile, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas was leading in seven out of the eight LGAs of Delta South district.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Okowa.
