Former Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has said his joint ticket with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu was in error.
Okowa said he later understood that it contradicted the wishes of his people.
He spoke as a guest on Arise Television’s Morning Show, during which he regretted pairing with Atiku to contest against Tinubu.
Okowa was defending his recent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He described his acceptance of the role as a misalignment with the prevailing sentiments in Delta State—an issue he said he has deeply reflected upon.
According to him, “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, and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people."
He linked the PDP’s failure in Delta during the presidential poll to that sentiment, acknowledging that while he ran out of loyalty to his party, the south was interested in producing President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
However, Okowa was quick to point out that the tide turned just three weeks later in the governorship election, where PDP triumphed in 21 out of the 25 local governments.
"That showed the people still believed in us, believed in me. They said you’ve done well, and we will support the governor you have chosen.’ And they did,” he said.
Commenting on the case against him before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the former Delta governor said: “I did well for the people of the state. Petitions can be written by anybody, but whatever petitions are written, the right of investigation is with the EFCC.
“So, there are no fears concerning that at all. And I have never spoken to Adams Oshiomole; we talked for the first time only yesterday because we are of different political parts and because we are of different political parts we were not friends perse.”
He added that, "when you find that the values and vision you once believed in are no longer there, then you step away."