Breaking: Atiku’s Running Mate in 2023 Election Okowa Dumps PDP, Defects to APC
- Former Governor of Delta state and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Okowa, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC)
- The development was disclosed on Wednesday, April 23, shortly after a meeting at the Delta state Government House, Asaba
- Okowa, before the announcement, said in his dialect while addressing the people that he is taking the best decision
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering elections, politics and governance in Nigeria.
Asaba, Delta state - In a stunning political twist, the immediate past governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
As reported by The Punch on Wednesday, April 23, the announcement came two years after Okowa stood as the running mate of Atiku Abubakar of the PDP in the Nigerian presidential election.
Source: Twitter
Blueprint newspaper also noted the development.
Okowa was received by top APC chieftains, in what is now being described as a strategic political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Senator James Manager, who represented Delta South senatorial district in the national assembly, also decamped to the APC.
Manager said:
“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
Odds favour Tinubu ahead of 2027 election
The depletion of the main opposition parties appears to favour the incumbent Nigerian leader, President Bola Tinubu, a political giant in the country.
Already, the presidency is in confident mood ahead of the next general election.
Sunday Dare, the special adviser on media and public communication to President Tinubu, asserted that his principal will win comfortably in 2027.
He said:
"Tinubu will win comfortably in 2027, no matter the volume of armchair theories and political conspiracies. His performance will clear the path.”
2027 election: PDP govs drift towards Tinubu
Some governors elected on the platform of the PDP appear to be working at cross purposes with the party’s expected direction in the 2027 presidential election.
While many of these governors are rumoured to be building bridges with the ruling APC behind closed doors, Akwa Ibom state governor, Umo Eno, has openly declared support for President Tinubu’s second-term bid.
While Eno is the first of the first-term PDP governors to publicly align with the president, others, including Enugu’s Peter Mbah and Rivers' Siminalayi Fubara, are reportedly making discreet moves along similar lines.
Delta governor leaves PDP for APC
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Sheriff Oborevwori, the governor of Delta state, dumped the PDP and defected to the ruling APC.
The announcement came on Wednesday, April 23, after a closed-door meeting held at the Government House in Asaba, Delta state.
According to sources close to the development, the decision followed “extensive consultations with political stakeholders” and was said to be "made in the interest of the state’s long-term growth and development".
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Source: Legit.ng
