I Regretted Being Atiku’s Running Mate; Deltans Didn’t Want Northerner As President: Okowa

TUESDAY April 29, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

A former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed regret for being a running mate to the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 general elections.

In an interview with Arise TV, Mr Okowa he took the decision when his state and supporters were against another northerner succeeding former president Muhammadu Buhari.

He said, “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 (PDP) and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people.”

Mr Okowa’s statement followed his defection from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress. The former Delta governor noted that he joined the APC in the interest of his state to tap from the resources in Abuja.