“I was promised automatic ticket”- Ned Nwoko laments after failing to secure APC Senatorial ticket

Senator Ned Nwoko has launched a scathing attack on the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming he was betrayed by the party’s leadership after they failed to honor a promise of an automatic ticket.

The embattled lawmaker, who currently represents Delta North in the Senate, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in early 2025. At the time, he cited irreconcilable factions and deep-seated divisions within the PDP. 

In a recent interview on Arise TV, Nwoko alleged that before crossing the aisle, he held a strategic meeting with the then-National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje. According to Nwoko, Ganduje offered him an automatic ticket in exchange for joining the ruling party. Relying on this assurance, he made the high-profile switch. 

However, Nwoko expressed shock when the political dynamics shifted. He alleged that former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa—who defected to the APC months after Nwoko—was given preferential treatment and ultimately clinched the party’s senatorial ticket. 

During the recent APC Delta North Primary, Okowa won by a massive landslide, polling 113,309 votes against Nwoko’s 2,612 votes. Rejecting the outcome, Nwoko has firmly maintained that the electoral process was heavily manipulated. 

Watch a video of him lamenting below