Former vice presidential candidate to Atiku Abubakar, in 2023 general election, Ifeanyi Okowa, has said he wished he had not accepted his nomination.
Naijaonpoint reports that Okowa, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, said it was during the campaign that he found out that the people of South did not want a Northerner to take over from former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, the former Governor of Delta State stated that had he known, he would not have accepted his nomination.
According to him, it was during the PDP presidential campaign in 2023 that he realized he made a mistake.
“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, and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people,” he said.
He cited the PDP’s loss of Delta during the presidential election as proof of his statement. He noted that Delta people voted overwhelmingly for PDP’s governorship candidate, Sheriff Oborevwori, who also defected to APC on Monday.
“That showed the people still believed in us, believed in me. They said you’ve done well, and we will support the governor you have chosen. And they did,” he stated.
He dismissed reports that he joined the APC to halt the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) probe into his administration.
“I did well for the people of the state. Petitions can be written by anybody, but whatever petitions are written, the right of investigation is with the EFCC.
“So, there are no fears concerning that at all. And I have never spoken to Adams Oshiomole; we talked for the first time only yesterday because we are of different political parts and because we are of different political parts we were not friends per se,” he added.