Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, you have answered the call. In April 2026, you formally declared your intention to contest the Delta North Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections under the All Progressives Congress (APC) banner.
You apologised for previously backing the emergence of the incumbent, Senator Ned Nwoko, and described your return as a service to the Anioma people.
Fair enough – politics is dynamic, and defections are now routine in Delta State. But before the campaigns intensify and the endorsements roll in, a few pointed questions deserve straight answers from you, the man who served as Senator (2011–2015), then Governor (2015–2023), and now seeks to circle back to the red chamber.
First, the family angle that many Delta North residents quietly discuss: After your time as Senator and eight years as Governor, your daughter, Barr. Marilyn Okowa-Daramola, secured a seat in the Delta State House of Assembly representing Ika North-East (elected in 2023 on the PDP platform at the time).
Nepotism is not illegal in Nigeria, but it raises the perennial question of public service versus private dynasty-building.
What exactly have you “forgotten” at the Senate that requires a comeback? And why should voters believe this is about unfinished legislative business rather than securing another layer of influence while your daughter holds state assembly power?
More critically, Senator Okowa: You owe the people of Delta State – especially Delta North – a full, transparent account of your stewardship.
During your governorship, Delta received massive FAAC allocations, 13% derivation funds, and internally generated revenue. Yet allegations persist of unaccounted billions (including claims of a missing N1.3 trillion, which your former Chief Press Secretary has publicly denied). You have not, to date, issued a comprehensive public audit or white paper addressing these specific claims. Before you ask for another mandate, release the detailed records of major projects, contracts, and expenditures from 2015–2023. Nigerians have a right to see the books – not press statements.
Your move into the APC has been framed by some as strategic realignment. Others see it differently: a calculated dive into the ruling party’s “corruption absorbent” machinery, as critics have long described the APC’s tolerance for crossovers. You were PDP through and through – former Vice-Presidential candidate, party stalwart.
Now you seek the APC ticket against the sitting Senator you once helped install. If this is truly about service, why not stay in the PDP and fight from within, or simply retire honourably after two high offices? Heading back to the Senate at this stage looks less like a return to unfinished work and more like a comfortable retirement home that conveniently provides parliamentary immunity from any future probes into gubernatorial finances. Immunity is a shield, not a retirement plan.
Let Senator Ned Nwoko complete his term and defend his record. He is already on the ground pushing for Anioma State creation and other constituency projects. If, after all these years in public office, you have not delivered the transformative plans you once promised for Delta North – roads, youth employment, industrial hubs, reliable power – then why should the district hand you another ticket? Performance, not pedigree or party switch, should be the metric.
And then there is the matter of endorsements. Businessman Tony Elumelu has publicly praised you as “Anioma’s pride” and thrown his weight behind your Senate bid. Elumelu is a titan of enterprise, no doubt, but his political interventions have consistently followed one clear pattern: whatever benefits his conglomerate and personal empire.
He has also endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s reforms and, by extension, the current federal government. That is his right as a private citizen. But to many ordinary Deltans groaning under economic hardship, subsidy removal pains, and rising costs, such endorsements ring hollow when they appear driven purely by boardroom calculations rather than the people’s lived realities. Elumelu’s support may open doors in Abuja, but it does little to answer the questions ordinary citizens are asking about past governance in Delta State.
Senator Okowa, you have paid your dues in public service. No one disputes your experience. But experience without accountability breeds cynicism.
Before you campaign on “impactful representation” and “youth and women inclusion,” first give the people the accounts they deserve. Publish the financial records. Address the allegations head-on. Explain why the Senate – which you already served – is suddenly the best platform again after eight years as the state’s chief executive.
Delta North is watching. Anioma is watching. The state you once governed is watching. Politics as usual – family placement, party hopping for cover, elite endorsements, and retirement via immunity – will not wash this time. Deliver the transparency first. Then, and only then, ask for the mandate again.
The ball is in your court, Senator. The people are waiting for answers, not another declaration.
Pamela.O
Political Analyst and Columnist.
