As a columnist and political analyst who has long tracked the politics of Delta State and the contributions of its public figures, I write with clarity and conviction: Senator Ned Munir Nwoko remains the sitting senator for Delta North. The mandate freely given to him by the people in 2023 is intact.

No court ruling on a pre-election procedural matter, and no appearance of another name on a party list for a future contest, has stripped him of that responsibility or the people’s trust.

He continues to serve, and those who understand the law and the long game of politics know this is far from over.

Recent jubilation in some quarters over the Federal High Court’s striking out of a suit against the emergence of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as APC candidate for Delta North misses the fundamental point.

Let us be precise, because precision matters in law and in politics. That suit was not personally instituted by Senator Nwoko in the manner the Constitution and Electoral Act demand for pre-election matters.

It was commenced in his name through a person described as his lawful attorney, Dr Mike Nwoko. The court identified this exact technical defect: the right to challenge a party primary is personal to the aspirant who participated. It cannot be exercised through an agent or power of attorney.

The originating process was therefore incompetent from the start, and no amendment could cure a nullity hence the struck out.

This is not a dismissal on the merits. It is not a validation of any primary outcome. It is a technical hurdle—one that an experienced international lawyer of Senator Nwoko’s calibre understands intimately and navigates methodically.

The fact that the processes were filed through an attorney does not extinguish the underlying grievances or close every legal avenue. It simply means that particular originating summons could not stand.

His legal team has already indicated the intention to pursue further steps, including appeal, precisely because the ruling was procedural rather than a determination on the substance.

One of those core issues remains live and central to the process that brought Okowa into the contest: the question of whether the former governor had properly and legally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party before joining the APC and presenting himself as a candidate.

In Nigerian electoral law and party practice, membership status and valid resignation are not mere formalities when eligibility to contest a primary is in dispute.

Senator Nwoko’s challenge included this contention. The mass defection of Delta PDP leaders was public, yet the specific legal steps required for a clean transition—formal resignation that severs previous membership and satisfies eligibility requirements—remain contested ground.

Senator Nwoko is therefore still engaged with the foundational questions surrounding Okowa’s participation and then the results that followed.

Those results, which Nwoko and his supporters have consistently described as concocted and at variance with ward-level evidence, video recordings, and agents’ reports across the vast majority of the 98 wards, did not emerge in a vacuum.

They followed a primary whose legitimacy—particularly the qualification of one of the key contenders—is precisely what is under scrutiny.

The appearance of Okowa’s name on the APC list submitted to INEC does not close the chapter. Candidate lists are administrative snapshots, not final judicial decrees on the validity of primaries. History is littered with cases where names shifted after legal and party processes ran their course. Pre-election disputes in Nigeria frequently turn on procedure first, then substance. Celebrating a technical strike-out as total victory is premature and reveals a misunderstanding of both the Constitution and the resilience of a mandate rooted in the people.

Senator Nwoko’s message to the people of Delta, delivered with calm assurance, is straightforward: he retains the senatorial seat and the mandate entrusted to him. He is the incumbent, sworn to serve until the end of the current term. That service has included advocacy for Anioma State creation, attention to constituency needs, legislative work on reparations and related matters, and a record of philanthropy and legal activism that has delivered tangible benefits—including major recoveries for local governments.

Supporters who see his positive contributions to the district and to broader Nigerian society are right to stand firm. The people’s choice in 2023 was not contingent on the outcome of a 2026 party primary.

An international lawyer does not abandon a just claim after one technical setback. He recalibrates, complies with the rules on personal institution of actions, and advances. That is the approach Senator Nwoko has signalled. He is holding the process to the standards the law requires. There is no rush to the exits and no easy escape from accountability on the questions of qualification, process integrity, and the credibility of the figures presented.

Those jubilating should pause and educate themselves on the distinction between a procedural ruling and a final determination of rights.

The supporters who feel the weight of the moment, and those who voted for him, should take heart: the fight for the rightful candidacy and for the integrity of the democratic process continues through lawful channels. There is no qualm on his part—only resolve.

Delta North deserves representation grounded in competence, consistency, and fidelity to the electorate. Senator Ned Nwoko has demonstrated those qualities.

The current senatorial seat and the 2023 mandate remain his. The fight over the integrity of the 2026 primary process, including the foundational question of who was properly qualified to contest and how the figures were arrived at, continues through the available legal and party channels.

Premature celebration does not alter the facts or the law. The people who entrusted him with their mandate, and those who continue to believe in his capacity to deliver for the district and society at large, can rest assured: the work continues, step by deliberate step.

-Pamela. O