Senator Ned Nwoko
By Victory Oghene
The Delta state politics in the last couple of years had been about the revolving question of whether the Senator representing Delta North in the Senate is a royalty, a Deltan patriot or a villain and pretender to greatness. This question needs not be asked or arisen at all for a quizzical, reasonable mind who understands nuances and can deconstruct realities from myths and sieve good intentions from pretences
Before being a Senator he had distinguished himself in the House of Representatives as a strong voice championing worthy causes, advocating for the betterment of his dear state all selflessly in the spirit of patriotism and higher calling, one that stands him out from the baser level of lucre-seeking, contract-chasing and manoeuvrings for personal aggrandizement that defined clearly the conduct of some of the Delta representatives at the National Assembly.
How did Sheriff Oborevwori come into the mix? Governor Oborevwori of Delta state, much like his paymasters and godfathers have come to view Nwoko as the greatest threat to their political survival, and thus must be demonized and hanged at all cost if they will continue to see Delta state Treasury as cash cow. Not that Nwoko has personally or intentionally gone after them, his crime is his unrepentant commitment to the development of the state as a whole and his timelong resolve to uplift the lives of the common people in the state from subservience to life of dignity and worth. He has broken the rule of engagement of Delta politics , of which it’s holy writ is keep the people economically down so that the elites in politics can allegedly continue to pillage the state.
Nwoko has turned out to be a politician of different hue and cast .
Delta State political barometer has hot up in recent times owing significantly to distinguished Senator Ned Nwoko’s constructive rethinking of his political future with significant portion of that review of his politics fuelled by how to further serve his Delta people. It’s a resolution of this dialectical thinking in his mind that fired his recent alignment with the ruling APC party.
Prior to this, he has had a running battles with Delta state governor over his desire to advise the governor to deliver on his promises for the good of Delta state, pointing out to the governor key projects that have been abandoned that if completed will have positive impact on the people.
This is the genesis of his problem with the governor and the reason for campaigns of calumny against the distinguished Senator.
Professor Adeagbo Moritiwon a political scientist said, Nwoko is not a politician but a Delta patriot, a philanthropist using politics to better the lot of his people. He is not your average politician but a political philosopher.” Nwoko has had a distinguished background anchored in wealth and industry unlike some pretenders in Delta who have made their fortune by abusing public office.
There is no doubt that he was born into privilege, a royalty by lineage, with impressive educational resume hatched in the tradition of best and privileged British education.
His reputed wealth comes not from political machinations but from sound and witty intellect, hard work, and towering acuity in business dealings and ability to fish out the nexus between money and industry.
No one needs to be told that he is the head of one of the most distinguished law firms in England and is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England.
Nwoko is immensely rich and enjoys the finest things in life, including a family worth of envy. He is a darling husband to six exceptionally beautiful women, and the way he maximizes these relationships with harmony and dignity is a testament to his capabilities as a leader. This ability to nurture personal and professional relationships highlights his potential as a unifying figure in society torn apart by petty political rivalry and wranglings which have left Delta state bleeding.
His crime is doing the right things at the right time for his people, a verity that runs counter to the proverbial greed, self-centeredness, and disarray in leadership often exhibited crassly among the Delta Ijaw political figures.
The Senator’s political maturity is sublime, having hatched and nurtured this in the House of Representatives and currently holding a senatorial position, both with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). His deep-rooted understanding of the political landscape, both in Delta State and on a national level, positions him as a viable candidate for governor. His tenure in the House has been marked by a commitment to advocacy for his constituents, which further legitimizes his critiques of the current governor.
His troubling moments come from a perceived lack of accountability and responsiveness in leadership—qualities absent among Delta PDP political leaders.
His description of the governor of Delta as a ” boy” has been fished and fed on by political jobbers , most of them Ijaw as a sign of arrogance. This perspective is not only laughable but amounts to childish thinking. In terms of political maturity Nwoko is an Elder statesman, and one of the most positively significant politicians in the state, aside his travels, intellect and experience he is in vantage position to refer to the governor a political neophyte as a boy.
It’s akin to when the Elder statesman Clark used to refer to the former president Goodluck Jonathan as his son. It’s a kind of patriarchal positive watching over of a neophyte growing up , being weaned into politics. It has no pejorative implications, and it is only warped minds that will read negativity into it.
However, such a label invites a deeper examination of Nwoko’s background and the intricate social dynamics at play. Viewing this solely as arrogance overlooks the rich cultural tapestry of age, status, respect, and tradition that holds importance in many African societies. Within this framework, Nwoko’s position as an elder contributes to his right to call the younger governor “boy,” a term that acknowledges their age difference rather than expressing contempt.
Ned’s political peregrination is immensely rich in experience. All his life he had helped nurtured the People’s Democratic Party in Delta in particular and nationally, thus putting him in the front ranks of builders of the party.
His deep-rooted understanding of the political landscape, both in Delta State and on a national level, positions him as a viable candidate for governor. His tenure in the House has been marked by a commitment to advocacy for his constituents, which further legitimizes his critiques of the current governor.
He decided finally to pitch his tents with All Progressives Congress after the PDP at the national level had proved irredeemable and riven by factionalism, and in Delta state the governor has failed abysmally to provide leadership.
The wonderful welcome accorded the Senator by the APC hierarchy when he moved to the party is a sign of his importance, little wonder the APC chairman Umar Ganduje described him as a ” big whale”.
In his welcome address, Nwoko hinted at rumours that the governor of Delta is mulling moving to APC , saying he’s not needed in the party given his vacuity.
Addressing reporters after receiving heartwarming reception from Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led national working committee (NWC) at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja , he averred that the Delta state governor does not possess what it takes to add value to the ruling APC, saying that there is absence of “capacity” on the part of Oborevwori , which is why, according to him, he, alongside critical stakeholders of the APC in Delta State, would bloc his entry into the APC family.
Nwoko’s vitriol against the governor came against the backdrop of speculation that the Delta state Governor is also considering defecting from the APC as part of a survival strategy to retain his plum job in the 2027 poll.
However, Nwoko noted that the Governor is not tailored into the APC family since he has not been answerable and accountable to the people of Delta State in spite of over N52 billion monthly from derivation from oil revenues and statutory allocation.
Nwoko said the Governor’s unwillingness to invest about N35 billion geared towards stepping down 120 megawatts of electricity from the Kwale power plant is a sign of his disconnect from the aspirations of the people, a development that could have addressed the appalling level of power supply in Delta state as well as the utilisation of the Ogwashi-Uku dam required to supply portable water to the citizenry in his constituency as part of the reasons why he lost confidence in the Governor.
Nwoko, who was accompanied by the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, the former women leader of the APC, Stella Okotete, scores of party chieftains and supporters to the party secretariat, also ruled the possibility of him contesting the governorship of Delta state on the APC platform in the 2027 poll.
He assured that he would partner with critical stakeholders to choose an appropriate person to administer the proposed Anioma state if the bill aimed at actualizing the objective eventually scales through the legislative mill and gets the assent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nwoko expressed optimism that the APC which now boasts of the three serving Senators, and six state assembly members in its kitty will surely take over Delta state in the upcoming 2027 poll.
“Going forward, the APC will take over Delta State. I believe in the people, We have the people. Whatever my former party, the PDP did to record wins since 1999, I know what they did, whatever that was done in the past, we will do it now for the APC. We want a place where the Governor would be answerable and accountable to the people,” he said.
Earlier on, Ganduje described Nwoko as a big whale in the net of the APC in Delta state adding that his entry spoke volumes of the fact that the APC is growing from strength to strength across the country.
The mere fact political heavyweights from Delta followed Nwoko to the welcome reception for him by APC is a sign of his giant stature in the political organogram of the state. He is a royalty wearing a patriot garb in service of the state, and his detractors may have turned out as villains.
Nwoko has embarked on a mission to break the hold by the governor and his Godfather, Ifesnyi Okowa, in Delta State
He believes the people must be free and elections should not be determined by structures but by the people. A government of the people by the people and for the people is what he has been advocating for and not a government by Okowa and Sheriff and some of their henchmen.
Nwoko is determined to play the role of a savior and would never compromise.
