By John Gabriel Governor of Delta State and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has...
By John Gabriel
Governor of Delta State and vice presidential candidate of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has vowed not to join
issues with the Southern and Middle Belt leaders who expressed disapproval with
his acceptance to be PDP’s presidential running mate.
Okowa’s response came less than 24 hours after the Southern
and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF), had dissociated themselves and
condemned him for accepting nomination to be vice presidential candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
But, Okowa while speaking on Arise TV, said while he
respected those leaders and their opinions, they should understand that he is a
politician who belongs to a political party, and that he is bound to respect
the decisions of that party.
Governor Okowa further said since the party had already
elected Atiku from the North as the presidential flagbearer, the right thing
was for the emergence of a Southern running mate to avoid situations that could
“lead us further into divisions in this country.”
He said, “I want to respect our leaders, I believe that they
have their opinions, and I also believe that they are well-meaning leaders.
“So, I won’t join issues with them. But the important thing
is that I belong to a political party and I was part of the decisions of that
political party, and we did agree that the best pathway to rescue this nation
was to throw the presidential race open in our party.
“And having agreed upon Atiku Abubakar, the former vice
president, the honour is now for us to support him since we can’t have a
President from the North and also a vice president from the North. That would
lead us further into divisions in this country, and we are talking about
rebuilding this nation, and to a very large extent, we have to take the right
decisions.
“And within our party, I think that having submitted myself
to be a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, I will have to submit myself to
the decisions of the party and that’s what has happened.
“That doesn’t mean it’s a disrespect for the views of those
leaders. They are leaders I respect so much, but under this condition, they
have to understand that I have committed myself to the PDP. I am a politician.
If I were not a politician, it might be different. I am a politician and I am
entitled to my views,” he said.
He appealed to them to actually look at the issues as they
were, stressing that “in rebuilding confidence, we have to be very cautious
about the stance that we take. We have to be cautious about what we do. We need
to understand that the unity of this nation is important and we need to move
forward from wherever we are at the moment.”
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