By Jude Opara
A former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed regret for being a running mate to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 general elections
In an interview with Arise TV monitored in Abuja yesterday, Mr Okowa he took the decision when his state and supporters were against another northerner succeeding former president Muhammadu Buhari.
He said, “Even when we were campaigning, I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power. But the decision had already been taken at the federal level by the party (PDP) and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people.”
Mr Okowa’s statement followed his defection from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress. The former Delta governor noted that he joined the APC in the interest of his state to tap from the resources in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Mr Abubakar had reacted to Mr Okowa’s defection, saying he bore no grudges against anyone defecting because it was part of politics in a democracy.
“As someone who holds fast to these values, I bear no grudges against anyone for exercising their right to political alignment. Defections, alliances, and realignments are part and parcel of democratic politics. We’ve seen them before, and we’ll see them again,” Mr Atiku said in a statement last Friday.
The former vice president said the 2027 election was not about political parties but a battle between suffering Nigerians and the incompetence of Mr Tinubu government.
“Let us be clear: the coming political battle is not APC versus PDP, or LP versus APC. It is Nigerians versus an administration that has plunged the nation into untold suffering. The economy is in freefall,” Mr said.
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