Former Delta Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa never said that he regretted being a Vice Presidential candidate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections.
The Executive Assistant to Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori on Public Enlightenment (Projects and Policies), Mr Olisa Ifeajika made the clarification at a press conference in Asaba on Wednesday .
Ifeajika, who was reacting to a report credited to Gov. Okowa following an interview with the Arise Television on Tuesday, said the reaction was to put the records straight.
He said that it was wrong for whoever that put out that report to misrepresent facts, adding that those who took time out to listen to the interview would testify that Okowa never said so.
Ifeajika, who was a Chief Press Secretary to Okowa said, ” the immediate past Gov. Okowa never said he regretted being on that ticket with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He also did not say that he regretted being the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP.
“When Okowa was asked the question of what happened to the PDP, particularly in Delta, as a Vice Presidential candidate where it was expected that he would win;
“What he (Okowa) said was that it was discovered that the southern Nigerians appeared to have resolved on having a president from the Southern extraction.
“And that was what happened, during our campaigns, we realised that that was what the people wanted and they got it. It was not as if PDP had bad candidates.
“That was why Sen. Bola Tinubu won the election and the other person from the South that did well in the Presidential election was Mr Peter Obi. It was a justification of that resolve of the people of the south to have a president from the south,” he said.
Ifeajika said that the PDP not winning much votes then from the south was due to a whirlwind which was then known as “Obident Movement” through the Labour Party as the vehicle that came and took everybody by surprise.
He said the people got what they wanted , adding that the lessons leant from that movement was the need to do some needs assessment on what the people wanted.
Ifeajika noted that in spite of the discovery, that the people of the South had resolved to vote for a southern president, that Okowa being a party man and having being duly nominated as the vice presidential candidate of the PDP never backed out of the party.
He said though while the people of south were thinking of zoning and power shift, the PDP national opened the platform for all candidates to contest which saw Atiku and Okowa emerging as the party flag bearers.
“Okowa met all the profile as listed by Atiku and was duly nominated to run as vice presidential candidate in that election. As a party man, he could not have left the party, he had to work for his party.
” Like Okowa said in the interview, that during the campaign, it was obvious that the people in the south have resolved in their minds that they wanted a president from the south.
“So, as much as we try in our campaign to convince them it was obvious that they wanted president from the south,” Ifeajika said.
Ifeajika said that what was credited to Okowa in the media was most uncharitable and not a representation of what he said during the interview.
“If whoever puts it out there was doing an interpretative reporting, that was a wrong interpretation of what Okowa said.
On Okowa’s defection to the APC, Ifeajika said that it has nothing to do with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invitations and questioning.
He said that Okowa has answered to the petitions and since then the commission has not invited him again because facts presented were not contradictory.
He said, ” PDP if likened to human being is seriously hemorrhaging. Delta is a case of one family remaining intact.
“Everybody came together to look at the issues and it was agreed unanimously by all stakeholders that the vehicle called PDP at the National was faulting dangerously.
” What happened on Monday, April 28 is not done anywhere in this country and beyond where the entire people in a political party making a move as a group.”
Ifeajika said that the relationship between the former Governors, Chief James Ibori and Okowa remained cordial.
