Okowa: I regret being Atiku’s running mate in 2023… it was against my people’s will

Ifeanyi Okowa, former governor of Delta state, says he regrets that he was the running mate of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.

Speaking on Arive Television on Monday, Okowa said the decision of the PDP leadership to make him the party’s vice-presidential candidate was against the sentiments of his people.

“Even when we were campaigning, I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power,” he said.

“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 alleged that the PDP’s leadership chose not to support the south’s desire to provide a successor to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He added that the failure of PDP to field a candidate from the south was responsible for its defeat in Delta state.

In spite of the defeat, he said, the PDP recovered to win 21 of 25 LGAs in the three-week-later governorship election.

“That showed the people still believed in us, believed in me,” he said.

“They said you’ve done well, and we will support the governor you have chosen. And they did.”