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•Discloses Atiku leaving PDP soon, uncertainty surrounding coalition

•Says Saraki lacks moral right to criticise him, insists defection not connected to EFCC case

•Opposition party to challenge defection, directs national legal adviser to file processes

•Refers secretaryship tussle to NEC

Chuks Okocha and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Former governor of Delta State and vice presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday, maintained that for a stable Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu should do eight years of two four-year tenures.

Okowa also disclosed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar might be on his way out of PDP, stating that there is uncertainty about a so-called coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) being spearheaded by Atiku.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Okowa also took a swipe at former Senate President Bukola Saraki, saying the ex-Kwara State governor has no moral right to question his political decisions, having himself left PDP at some point in the past.

Okowa stated, “The politics today may not be about the north and south, because I believe that both from the north and the south, people are competing, and in all political parties, you’re likely going to have people from the north and the south.

“But beyond all this, for the stability of this nation, I also do believe that, yes, President Bola Tinubu was elected president in 2023, and for the stability of Nigeria, it is best for us to have him complete his eight-year tenure. Then the presidency can move back to the north. I believe that is the right thing.”

Okowa, along with the entire PDP machinery in Delta State recently defected to the ruling APC, citing, among other reasons, the need to align with the central government.

The ex-Delta State governor, who was running mate to Atiku in the last general election, said his vice presidential bid in 2023 failed because he moved against the prevailing political sentiments that power should return to the south.

He pointed out that before he left PDP alongside his successor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and others, there were several consultations with stakeholders.

But Okowa hinted that there was no need to discuss the matter with former Governor James Ibori, one of the most prominent political figures in the state, because at the time they were not in the same political party.

Okowa also stated that his defection to the ruling party had nothing to do with his matter with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He denied ever speaking with ex-governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, who was rumoured to have assured him that his “sins” would be forgiven once he left PDP for APC.

Okowa said PDP did not appear to be preparing for the 2027 general election. He believed that PDP’s recent outright rejection of collaboration with any other party was a recipe for failure.

On the criticism by Saraki, Okowa said, “First, we did defect to the APC. I did not watch Senator Bukola (Saraki) speak, but I heard about what he said. Ordinarily, I believe that we’re a political family in Delta State, and once we take decisions together, I have to go with my political family, because without that family, I have no politics to play.

“Two, I did not expect that somebody like Senator Bukola Saraki should be able to speak concerning me, because he knows that he had also moved to the APC before and eventually returned, so he has had movement to and fro. I don’t think he has the moral right to even speak about my defection at all. But I don’t want to join issues with him.”

According to him, PDP is no longer a proper political vehicle for Delta State, and it does not also appear that the party is ready to compete in the 2027 elections, especially with the many pending court cases.

Okowa said, “If I had the confidence on my own, and if the governor had the confidence that the PDP as it stands today is prepared to compete favourably and be very competitive at the 2027 elections, we would not have needed to move. But the signs are not there, because if you’re going to compete, it is necessary to reach out to people. We are not spending our time reaching out to people.

“There’s a lot of internal wrangling within the party. And as I said, I do not want to join issues with any of their leadership, because they are doing the best they can within their own thoughts. But those thoughts do not seem to go well with us, because we believe that for us to be truly competitive, we must stretch out our hands to embrace a lot of people.”

Although he admitted that Atiku had invited him last year to discuss the issue of forming a coalition, Okowa stated that he offered his advice to the former vice president, which he was not willing to discuss it publicly.

He stated, “I don’t think it’s exactly true that I was side-lined in the coalition talks, because I know that Waziri Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, did invite me sometime last year, and I sat with him, and he talked about this coalition. And I did offer my advice at that point in time.

“And as they progressed, we met once again, and I actually did offer my own advice. The advice I gave to him was personal, and I do not think that it’s something that I have to talk about in public. But the real truth is that it’s not a question of being side-lined, but it’s a question of our people.

“He did invite me, and I discussed the matter with the governor. I discussed the matter with some of the leadership of our party, and they were not quite comfortable with a coalition that was being built. The primaries of the parties will start from next year.

“So we’re just one year away from competitive elections, and it does not appear that a vehicle has been confirmed for that coalition, nor does it appear to us as a state and as a political family that the coalition was going to be able to build strength within the short period of time available.

“And to that extent, it became worrying for both the governor and the leadership of our political family in Delta State. And we felt that it was difficult to move into that coalition.”

Okowa also disclosed that he had communicated to Atiku the fact that he was no longer comfortable in PDP, and affirmed that the former vice president’s body language was that he might be leaving PDP, too.

He explained, “Actually, I did communicate with him (Atiku) that we’re going to have stakeholders’ meetings, and I did communicate that we’re going to have the stakeholders meetings this week, that is, in the last week.

“And that it was going to be a leadership meeting, and the outcome of that meeting was going to determine our next path, because we are no longer comfortable with the PDP. And I also know that he was already heading out of the PDP from the communications that he has passed on to me, and that we, Nigerians, also know already.”

He further clarified that his defection was unconnected with the EFCC case. He stated that he was only invited by the anticorruption body, and he honoured the invitation.

According to him, “In the first instance, there are no sins to be forgiven, because no sins were committed. That is number one. Two, I was not arrested by the EFCC. A communication was sent to me, and that communication arrived at my place. I was overseas at that time, and when I returned, I reported to the EFCC to answer their queries.

“I am not afraid of being investigated because I worked for Delta State, and the people.

The large majority of the people understand that I did work for them, and because of the work that I did, I have nothing to fear.”

PDP to challenge Defection of Okowa, Gov

The National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP directed the party’s National Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade, SAN, to file a court action for the purpose of reclaiming the office of the governor of Delta State from APC.

The NWC also referred the secretaryship struggle between Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye to the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting expected to hold May 27, for final adjudication.

Addressing newsmen after its over five hours meeting, acting National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Umar Damagum, said the NWC resolved that the national legal adviser should file a process in court to recover the office of governor and those of other elected officials who defected last week to APC

Damagum stated, “The 1999 Constitution is clear, you don’t defect when there is no crisis in the party. The national legal adviser will challenge the defection in the court immediately. They cannot take away the fortunes of this party.

“We cannot just be left in the hands of our adversaries; we will take legal action to retrieve those mandates as far as the Electoral Act says whenever you leave you must leave the chair that you have occupied.

‘’No, the party did nothing wrong rather than their wish, according to them, to join the party, which, to me, has taken place. We’ve taken it with all sorts of regret and the pains that have gone down with us.

“I want to also use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that election is not done by the NWC. The election will be between Nigerians and them.

‘’And I believe this should not wear us down. Rather, it should make us roll up our sleeves so that we come to the point that we wouldn’t need to reconcile against each other.’’

Damagum further said, “They can coerce, like I said earlier, cajole and intimidate our members into joining there. But they can only do that because they feel they have what it takes.

“Nigerians, when the time comes, they will receive the result from Nigerians. It has happened before, and it will repeat itself.

‘’The parameters that will make Nigerians revolt against them are all in place. This government has been so insensitive to the yearnings and feelings of people.

‘’They have nothing so far. They have not shown any remorse. We are not conquered people. We are Nigerians, tax-paying Nigerians, law-abiding citizens. And we have rights. And when the time comes, Nigerians will show them that they have rights.”

Damagum stressed, “2027 is between Nigerians and Tinubu and the FEC. So, I want to urge our supporters to remain calm. We’ve just instructed the zonal caretaker committee to oversee the party in Delta after dissolving all the structures that have already been there, since the majority of them have shifted. And in no time, we’ll constitute a caretaker committee.

“We’ve also approved the zonal congresses that have so far taken place in the three zones, South-west, North-east, and South-east, and also approved a caretaker committee of North-central zone, pending when they will have their election soonest. With this, I want to urge our teaming supporters. I mentioned, I want to ask our teaming supporters to support the party.”

Emmanuel Ogidi was appointed to lead the South-south zone as the vice chairman, and directed to go to Delta State to recover all PDP property.

On the leadership struggle over the party’s national secretary, Damagum said the NWC had resolved to send the matter to the NEC meeting to resolve.

Anyanwu, who attended the meeting on the invitation of the NWC to state his position, said NEC would hold on May 27.