Delta North Senator, Ned Nwoko, has insisted that he defeated former governor Ifeanyi Okowa in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senatorial primary election held in the state.

In a statement through his Media Office, Nwoko urged the national leadership of the APC to protect what he described as the mandate freely given to him by party members.

He stated that he beat Okowa in 97 of the 98 wards during the party’s senatorial primary election, calling on the APC National Working Committee and the party’s leadership to resist any pressure aimed at overturning the outcome of the primary election.

The lawmaker maintained that he won the APC senatorial primary election conducted across Delta North by a wide margin, securing approximately 123,000 votes against the 6,000 votes he said were recorded by Okowa.

According to him, any attempt to overturn the wishes of party members who participated in the exercise would amount to a disregard for their democratic rights and could negatively affect the fortunes of the party in the district.

Subverting the mandate freely given by APC members who turned out in large numbers to participate in the primaries would amount to an abuse of their wishes and sensibilities.

“Such an action could undermine the confidence of party members and supporters who believe in the democratic process,” he said.

Nwoko further claimed that the outcome of the primary election could be independently verified through extensive video evidence obtained from the wards where the exercise was conducted.

I defeated Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa overwhelmingly in 97 of the 98 wards, and I have video evidence from across the district to support the outcome.

“Are authenticated video recordings from 98 wards not more credible than figures allegedly concocted by a panel appointed by the governor who is openly working for Okowa,” he asked.