Former Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, has broken silence on why he and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to join the All Progressives Congress.
According to Okowa, the defection to the APC was motivated by the desire to connect the state to the seat of power in Abuja.
He made this known while speaking at a ceremony held at the Cenotaph in Asaba on Monday, where they were formally received into the APC.
Last week, Okowa, his predecessor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his cabinet members dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
The move unsettled the PDP’s national leadership as the opposition party lost one of the oil-rich states it’s been governing since 1999 to the ruling APC.
Speaking on the significant move, Okowa, who was the PDP Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, said the defection was necessary to connect the state to the goodwill and resources in Abuja.
He said, “When the news broke on Wednesday that we had decided to change our path, people wondered why, but one thing is very important in a people’s history: there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people.
“As I did tell people that day, it was not about me, it was not about the governor, but the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja, that goodwill that is in Abuja, that resource that’s in Abuja of which Delta State is a large contributor, there was a need to connect to it.”
Okowa described the defection of Delta political leaders to the APC as patriotic and strategic, saying Delta lost a lot during his tenure because the state was in opposition.
“I was governor for eight years. I was in opposition. I did my best but we lost a lot. And I did not believe that the governor needed to stay working very hard, and we know that we are very supportive of Governor Sheriff because he’s doing a lot.
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“But as the governor is doing a lot for us, he also needs to connect to the greater source of power and resource and goodwill in Abuja,” the ex-governor said.
Therefore, he called on Deltans who are already in the APC to embrace and work with them to make the ruling party dominant in the state.
“We must defend our state. Our state stands far beyond us, and I believe that this decision is in the best interest of all.
“It is time for us to embrace each other — our brothers and sisters who were already in the APC and those of us that have come into the family. We need to embrace each other and work with oneness of heart.
“It is time for us to stand together in great support for Mr President and Mr Governor, because together we can truly dominate the politics in Delta State.
“I believe there will be no other party with this move that we have made,” Okowa stated.
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