• Says it is difficult decision to take
• Atiku has solutions to Nigeria’s problem, Delta Gov says
• Pro-Wike governors stay away
By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
After several days of political intrigues, negotiations and horse trading, the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has emerged as the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the next year’s general election.
The choice of Okowa, a Medical Doctor and former Senator, was announced by the PDP presidential candidate and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday during the National Caucus meeting of the party held at its National secretariat in Abuja.
At the meeting which was attended by some state Governors, party chieftains and National Working Committee members of the party, Atiku described the choice of Okowa as a difficult decision to take.
According to him, “It is a difficult decision that I am called upon to take. But, as someone hoping to lead a complex country such as ours, tough and difficult decisions would remain a part of my everyday life.”, Atiku emphatically declared.
Prior to yesterday’s emergence of Dr Okowa as the PDP’s presidential running mate, the name of Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyeson Wike was being mentioned as the preferred candidate for the position.
However, all those permutations changed between Wednesday night and yesterday morning as the political calculation took a new twist.
At yesterday’s meeting, most of the governors perceived to be pro-Wike were conspicuously absent, while the only one who attended, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State) left shortly after coming in into the party’s National headquarters.
In his speech at the meeting, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said of the choice of Okowa as his running mate, “It is a difficult decision that I am called upon to take. But, as someone hoping to lead a complex country such as ours, tough and difficult decisions would remain a part of my everyday life.
“Let me, therefore, start this momentous journey with a crucial decision about who, among the eminently qualified shortlist, would be my Running Mate.
“Accordingly, let me state that the person I have chosen as my Running Mate possesses all those identified qualities.
“He personifies not only the seriousness the current moment represents for our country but also the future that our young people yearn for and deserve.
“He is a serving State Governor who has demonstrated, in his State and through his conduct, that governance is about service to the people.
“I know that he will not only add excitement to our already energized ticket and campaign, but will also help to bring focus, discipline and stability to our government, come 2023.
“I am pleased, therefore, to announce here my choice of Running Mate who will help to lead us to victory next year not only in the Presidential election but also in the governorship and legislative elections.
“And he will be by my side as I work hard every day to provide our people with security, revive our economy, improve education and unite our country. He has both Legislative and Executive experiences.
“Please join me in welcoming to the ticket the next Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.
“You know him to be a fighter; you know him to care about winning; you know him to care about good governance; and you know him to care about our people. “Now, my dear friends, let’s do the disciplined hard work necessary to win this election. Let’s go”, he said.
Responding after his emergence as the PDP’s presidential running mate, Dr Okowa said, “I do understand that it’s a great work that is ahead of us. By the special grace of God, we will work hard to ensure victory for the party.
“There is no doubt that there is a great work ahead of each and every one of us. “The building back process is going to be collective and we’re trusting that all of our team members will want to be part of that story at the end of the day. “The story, which will obviously be positive and will yield positive results, will require that each and every one of us must support our principal as we move forth in the next few months, and that at the end,, we will win the elections with a landslide victory.
“So we must create in ourselves, in yourself, a new approach to political issues, a new commitment, which I believe we all yearn for.
“It will require a lot of commitment from each and every one of us.
“It will require the unity of each and every one of us in our various wards, in our various local governments and states. We need the PDP to return to power.
“We have answers to the questions because I’ve had the opportunity of going through our candidate’s book, and I hope each and every one of us will take time to go through “My Covenant with Nigeria”.
“It is something worth studying. It is something put together, which I don’t think other presidential candidates of other parties have been able to put together.
“You need to go through it. You will find the solutions to our problems in that document. I also appreciate our presidential candidate publicly for making this happen earlier”, Okowa said.
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