In terms of the previous Senate elections, all three incumbent senators were re-elected: in the Central district, Ovie Omo-Agege (LP-turned-APC) held his seat for the APC with 51% of the vote; on the other hand, the PDP's Peter Nwaoboshi and James Manager won with 82% in the North district and 66% in the South district, respectively. These results were a part of a continuation of the PDP's control of the state as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was re-elected with over 80% of the vote in the gubernatorial election and the party held its sizeable majority in the House of Assembly. However, the PDP did lose one House of Representatives seat to the APC and although the state was easily won by PDP presidential nominee Atiku Abubakar, it still swung towards Buhari compared to 2015 and had lower turnout.
At the start of the 2019–2023 term, Omo-Agege was elected Deputy President of the Senate.[1] By the middle of the term, Omo-Agege had filed 20 bills compared to Nwaoboshi's and Manager's two bills each.[2] However, Nwaoboshi was also high-profile due to his defection to the APC in June 2021 and his continued legal cases.[3] Three major corruption scandals struck Nwaoboshi with the federal government filing three counts of false asset declaration against him in June 2019, the Niger Delta Development Commission accusing him of using front companies to defraud the Commission out of ₦3.6 billion in June 2020, and his continued trial on ₦322 million fraud and money laundering;[4][5] the fraud trial ended in July 2022 with a seven-year prison sentence for Nwaoboshi but he stated his intent to appeal and feigned illness in attempt to avoid the sentence.[6][7][8][9]
On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for senatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦3 million and nomination form price at ₦17 million with a 50% discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms were to be sold from 26 April to 6 May until the deadline was later extended to 10 May then 12 May.[16] After the submission of nomination forms by 13 May, candidates were screened by a party committee on 14 and 15 May while 18 May was the date for the screening appeal process.[17] Ward congresses and LGA congresses were set for 16 and 17 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 27 May, in concurrence with other APC senatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made on 28 May.[18][19][20][21]
Prior to the primary, Omo-Agege endorsed Ede Dafinone as his anointed successor in a reported attempt to further his political network and become a godfather. The primary in Ughelli resulted in Dafinone—the Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group—emerging as the nominee unopposed.[22] Like other APC senatorial primary winners, Dafinone was unopposed reportedly due to an agreement between Omo-Agege, Nwaoboshi, and other state APC leaders.[22]
On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its senatorial primary timetable, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates were screened by a party committee on 27 April while 2 May was the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses were set for 29 April and LGA congresses were rescheduled for 10 May to elect delegates for the primary.[23] Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 23 May, in concurrence with other PDP senatorial primaries but due to often violently enforced Monday stay-at-home orders by separatists, southeastern state parties held their primaries on 24 May;[24] challenges to the result could be made on 25 May.[25][26][27][28]
Pre-primary analysis noted the primary as one of many proxy battles between former Governor James Ibori and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa with the former backing former Senator Ighoyota Amori and the latter supporting John Nani.[29] The primary resulted in Amori defeating runner-up Nani by 7% at the Sapele Stadium; the result was a rare win for Ibori's camp as its candidate lost the gubernatorial primary and other Okowa loyalists won other nominations.[30]
On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for senatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦3 million and nomination form price at ₦17 million with a 50% discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms were to be sold from 26 April to 6 May until the deadline was later extended to 10 May then 12 May.[16] After the submission of nomination forms by 13 May, candidates were screened by a party committee on 14 and 15 May while 18 May was the date for the screening appeal process.[17] Ward congresses and LGA congresses were set for 16 and 17 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 27 May, in concurrence with other APC senatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made on 28 May.[18][19][20][21]
The primary at the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Asaba resulted in Nwaoboshi emerging as the nominee unopposed.[22] Like other APC senatorial primary winners, Nwaoboshi was unopposed reportedly due to an agreement between Omo-Agege, Nwaoboshi, and other state APC leaders.[22]
On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its senatorial primary timetable, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates were screened by a party committee on 27 April while 2 May was the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses were set for 29 April and LGA congresses were rescheduled for 10 May to elect delegates for the primary.[23] Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 23 May, in concurrence with other PDP senatorial primaries but due to often violently enforced Monday stay-at-home orders by separatists, southeastern state parties held their primaries on 24 May;[31] challenges to the result could be made on 25 May.[25][26][27][32]
In the months before the primary, some pundits expected outgoing Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to run for a return to the Senate; however, he declined to run and was later selected as the PDP vice presidential nominee.[29] Okowa chose to support Ned Nwoko for the PDP nomination.[29] The primary at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba resulted in Nwoko—a former MHR, businessman, and husband of Regina Daniels—emerging as the nominee over businessman Paul Osaji by a 57% margin. After collation completed, Nwoko claimed that his entrance into the Senate would positively impact the entire nation.[33]
After the start of the official campaign period in October, Nwoko went on the offensive by deriding Nwaoboshi's tenure as senator as useless along with daring Nwaoboshi to start open campaigning.[34] By late November, pundits and civil groups had also noted Nwaoboshi's absence from campaigning with rumors that it was connected to his avoidance of his prison term.[35] In early January 2023, the Supreme Court briefly granted Nwaoboshi bail while fast tracking the date of his appeal hearings.[36][37] However, near the end of the month, the court revoked the bail based on the fact that Nwaoboshi had remained a fugitive since his sentencing.[38] On 6 February, Nwaoboshi was finally caught in Lagos by the EFCC and imprisoned at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre.[39]
On 20 April 2022, the APC National Executive Committee announced the party's schedule for senatorial primaries, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦3 million and nomination form price at ₦17 million with a 50% discount for candidates younger than 40 while women and candidates with disabilities get free nomination forms. Forms were to be sold from 26 April to 6 May until the deadline was later extended to 10 May then 12 May.[16] After the submission of nomination forms by 13 May, candidates were screened by a party committee on 14 and 15 May while 18 May was the date for the screening appeal process.[17] Ward congresses and LGA congresses were set for 16 and 17 May to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 27 May, in concurrence with other APC senatorial primaries; challenges to the result could be made on 28 May.[18][19][20][21]
The primary in Oleh resulted in Joel-Onowakpo Thomas—the former Chairman of Delta State Board of Internal Revenue—emerging as the nominee unopposed.[22] Like other APC senatorial primary winners, Thomas was unopposed reportedly due to an agreement between Omo-Agege, Nwaoboshi, and other state APC leaders.[22]
On 16 March 2022, the national PDP announced its senatorial primary timetable, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦20 million with a 50% discount for candidates between 25 and 30. Forms were to be sold until 1 April but the party later extended the deadline four times before reaching a final deadline of 22 April. After the submission of nomination forms by 25 April, candidates were screened by a party committee on 27 April while 2 May was the rescheduled date for the screening appeal process. Ward congresses were set for 29 April and LGA congresses were rescheduled for 10 May to elect delegates for the primary.[23] Candidates approved by the screening process advanced to a primary set for 23 May, in concurrence with other PDP senatorial primaries but due to often violently enforced Monday stay-at-home orders by separatists, southeastern state parties held their primaries on 24 May;[42] challenges to the result could be made on 25 May.[25][26][27][43]
Former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was the APC nominee for the seat in 2019 and returned to the PDP in 2020, initially announced a new run for the seat but he withdrew and retired from politics in March 2022.[44] Both of the two remaining major candidates—former DESOPADEC Chairman Michael Diden and former MHR Daniel Reyenieju—solicited Uduaghan's endorsement before the primary.[29] On the primary date, Diden defeated Reyenieju by a 47% margin at the Warri Township Stadium.[45][30] After the vote, Diden said the victory was a demonstration of the electorate's confidence in him.[30]