Former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2019 presidential campaign organization, Umar Sani, has dismissed Ifeanyi Okowa’s reason for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Naija News reported that the former Governor of Delta State said he defected to the APC to connect his state to the center and mainstream. He also faulted the capacity of PDP to win election in 2027.
In a statement on Thursday, Sani stated that Okowa’s reasons showed he defected for personal interest rather than ideology.
“Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa finds himself in the eye of a political storm. His defection to the APC isn’t entirely surprising, but it was his interview that truly stirred the hornet’s nest. There, he raised four issues, each revealing more about self-preservation than ideology. His comments came across less as principles and more as political gaslighting,” he said.
The PDP Chieftain decried Okowa‘s statement that he regretted becoming PDP’s vice presidential candidate in 2019.
“If Okowa now regrets running alongside Atiku Abubakar in 2023, the question becomes: was he honest then, or is he being dishonest now?
“One doesn’t suddenly regret standing with a candidate unless loyalty is never genuine. This isn’t about opposing his people it’s about unfulfilled ambition,” he stated.
He contended Okowa’s claim to connect Delta to the center, noting that Okowa once described APC as a disaster. He stressed that as PDP governor, Okowa did not join APC to connect to the center.
“This claim is misleading. Delta didn’t send Okowa to negotiate asylum at the ‘center’. Delta hasn’t been brought anywhere Okowa merely joined a new alliance for personal security.
“Ask Deltans: Does joining a party he once called ‘a disaster’ serve their interests? He had eight years as governor during APC’s national rule. Why didn’t he integrate then?
“Leaders like Tinubu and Buhari remained in opposition without defecting. Okowa’s move isn’t vision, it’s vindication,” he argued.
The former spokesman of former Vice President Namadi Sambo added that Okowa’s interview on his defection was staged by APC to discredit the PDP.
“Okowa now says the PDP isn’t ready for 2027 but this is the party that gave him everything: commissioner, governor, vice-presidential candidate.
“Is he saying the house he helped build is uninhabitable? If so, isn’t he partly responsible? This is scorched-earth politics destroying a party, then blaming others.
“Okowa’s interview wasn’t a principled stand, it was a political plea bargain masked as patriotism. Discrediting Atiku and the PDP may be part of a deal to boost APC ahead of 2027.
“Delta didn’t ‘join the center.’ Okowa defected, seeking protection. If he thinks Nigerians, especially Deltans, will forget this betrayal, he’s in denial,” he added.
