By Emmanuel Enebeli
KWALE/Nigeria: The Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU) has rejected reports that the Ndokwa Nation formally adopted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The clarification was contained in a statement signed by Dr Eze Nathaniel Ossai, Assistant Publicity Secretary of the NNU, while a separate statement by the union’s Legal Adviser, Ambrose Egwunatum Esq., addressed the suspension of the NNU President-General, stressing that it was unrelated to the controversy over the reported endorsement of Okowa.
The two statements were issued separately and sought to clarify different aspects of the developments arising from the NNU’s recent stakeholder engagement in Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area.
In his statement, Ossai said the interactive meeting held on Saturday was a consultative stakeholder engagement, rather than an endorsement or adoption ceremony.
He said the meeting was organised to provide Okowa, the APC candidate for the Delta North Senatorial District, an opportunity to present his manifesto and outline his development plans to Ndokwa stakeholders.
The clarification followed reports published after the meeting which portrayed the gathering as an occasion where the Ndokwa ethnic nationality endorsed Tinubu, Oborevwori, Okowa and other APC candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ossai said statements made at the meeting by individual politicians, party supporters and other participants should not be interpreted as the official position of the NNU or the Ndokwa Nation.
“The interactive session organised by the NNU on Saturday in Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, was purely a consultative stakeholder engagement,” he said.
The NNU maintained that it remained a non-partisan socio-cultural organisation and would provide similar opportunities for candidates of other political parties participating in the 2027 elections.
According to the union, the objective of such engagements is to give candidates an opportunity to explain their programmes and development plans to the people, rather than commit the Ndokwa Nation to a predetermined political position.
“Political speeches made by individual politicians or party supporters during the event reflect their personal views and party affiliations, not the official stance of the NNU or the Ndokwa Nation,” the statement said.
The union also said the Ndokwa people would not be pressured into making what it described as premature or blanket political commitments before candidates across party lines had presented their programmes.
It said the NNU leadership, traditional rulers, elders and other stakeholders would, at the appropriate time, consider the presentations, records and manifestos of candidates before providing guidance to the people.
Such consideration, the union said, would be based on the development interests of Ndokwa and the ability of candidates to address the concerns of the people.
In a separate statement, Ambrose Egwunatum Esq., Legal Adviser to the NNU, clarified the circumstances surrounding the suspension of the union’s President-General.
Egwunatum specifically stated that the suspension was not connected with, or related to, publications concerning the reported endorsement of Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.
“NNU President General’s suspension is not in connection to or related to the issue of Sen. Okowa’s endorsement publications,” the Legal Adviser stated.
According to him, the suspension was instead based on allegations of “highhandedness, administrative incompetence and financial misappropriation/management.”
Egwunatum added that details concerning the allegations and the circumstances surrounding the suspension would be made available subsequently.
The clarification comes amid reports that had placed the President-General’s suspension and the controversy over the reported political endorsement within the same context.
The Legal Adviser’s statement, however, draws a distinction between the two developments, maintaining that the suspension should not be linked to the issue of Okowa’s reported endorsement.
The NNU has also previously maintained that political candidates seeking support in Ndokwa should have an opportunity to engage with the people and present their programmes.
Against that background, the union said the Kwale meeting should be understood as part of its broader stakeholder engagement process rather than as a formal political adoption.
The NNU urged members of the public and media organisations to distinguish between individual expressions of political support at the meeting and an official decision by the socio-cultural organisation.
It also appealed to the media and members of the Ndokwa Nation to disregard reports suggesting that the union had made a blanket political adoption ahead of the 2027 elections.
The two clarifications come as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, with political parties and candidates increasingly engaging community and socio-cultural organisations across Delta State.
