Former Delta State Governor and 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Okowa, has confirmed that his former principal, Atiku Abubakar, is preparing to leave the party.
Okowa made the statement on Tuesday during an interview with newsmen, just a day after he and other PDP leaders in Delta State, including Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, officially defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the interview, Okowa revealed that he had informed Atiku ahead of the defection.
He said: “Actually, I did communicate with him that we’re going to have stakeholders meetings and I did communicate that we’re going to have the stakeholders meetings in this week, that is in the last week.
“And that it was going to be a leadership meeting and the outcome of that meeting was going to determine our next path because we are no longer comfortable with the PDP.
Okowa added that Atiku had already given hints that he too was leaving the party.
“I also know that he was already heading out of the PDP from the communications that he has passed on to me and that have also, Nigerians also know already,” he said.
He explained that after consulting with political leaders in Delta, they decided almost unanimously to join the APC.
“We’re looking into, could it be the APC, could it be the coalition… and it was a near-all decision that we should move into the APC,” Okowa said.
Addressing the issue of political rotation between North and South, Okowa noted that while candidates emerge from both regions in every party, it’s important for national unity that President Bola Tinubu completes his term.
“For the stability of Nigeria, it is best for us to have him complete his eight-year tenure. Then the presidency can move back to the North. I believe that that is the right thing,” he said.
Reacting to the defections, Atiku Abubakar said such moves are a normal part of democratic politics. He had earlier, in March, announced a political coalition aimed at challenging President Tinubu’s government, with expectations that he may contest again in the 2027 presidential election.
