Running With Atiku In 2023 Was Costly Mistake – Okowa

Former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has rued his decision to run as vice presidential candidate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 election, saying it was a costly mistake on his part.

Okowa, who spoke during an Arise TV interview on Tuesday, admitted for the first time that his decision to accept the vice presidential offer was against the preferences of the Delta people at the time.

The former governor ran on a joint presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with Atiku as flag bearer.

Looking back, Okowa said running with Atiku was responsible for PDP’s loss of Delta State votes to the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi in the last presidential election.

According to him, like other states in Southern Nigeria, the Delta people had expressed a strong desire for a president from the South in 2023, after Muhammadu Buhari’s eight- year presidency.

He however, attributed his decision to run with Atiku to his loyalty to the PDP at the time, regretting that he failed to
prioritised the wish of the Delta people for power to shift to the South.

The ex governor, however, said he had since regained the trust of the Delta people, citing PDP’s win in the 2023 governorship election, conducted three weeks after the presidential election.

Dr Okowa dismissed media reports linking his defection to a strategy to avoid investigation and possible prosecution by anti graft agencies.

He denied being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sometime last year, saying however, that he had had cause to honour an invitation by the agency for questioning at a point in time.

Okowa was reportedly arrested by the EFCC in November 2023, in connection with alleged financial infractions to the tune of N1.3 trillion linked to him during his tenure as governor.

He was said to have been arrested and detained at the EFCC’s facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but was released a few days later.

The former governor has continued to insist that his defection to the APC was a product of wide consultations with key political stakeholders in Delta State.

He said that remaining in the opposition had restricted Delta State’s access to what he described as “federal opportunities.”

Okowa declared that the PDP, as presently constituted, no longer represents the ideals he once cherished, adding that his defection to the APC was informed by principle and not opportunism.

The former governor said he owed nobody an apology for his actions, insisting that he acted in the best interest of Delta State.