Timi Frank, a former deputy national publicity secretary for the All Progressives Congress (APC), disclosed on Wednesday that Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate past governor of Delta State, pushed to be the running mate of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
Frank said this in a statement in response to an Okowa-attributed comment that he “regrets” accepting the position of running partner for the presidency.
He said that Okowa’s appointment was a “afterthought” because he not only fought, pleaded, and pushed for the job, but he was also desperate to be Atiku’s running mate.
Frank added, “It is understandable that Okowa is fighting the battle of his life to evade prosecution by the EFCC over corruption allegations against him but to make Nigerians believe that he now “regrets” taking up the position of vice Presidential candidate of the PDP in 2023 is not only an afterthought but cowardice in full bloom.
“We know how Okowa begged, fought and lobbied to get the position.
“This is not Okowa’s first attempt at a high-level betrayal. The tale of how he stabbed ex-Governor James Ibori, his erstwhile godfather, in the back because of power is still fresh in our memory.
“Many of us know how Okowa emerged as Vice Presidential candidate which he was not meant to be because few of us ever wanted him, we believed he did not have the capacity and experience to become vice president.
“Therefore, Okowa lacks the rectitude to play the victim or feign regret over a job and position he desperately wanted.
“We are still of the opinion that if Wike had emerged in place of Okowa in 2023 as running mate to Atiku, perhaps PDP would be in government at the national level today but we lost out apparently because of the choice of this ungrateful Okowa who never brought real value or political capital to the table.”
