Fresh facts are beginning to emerge on the undercurrent that culminated in the decision of the 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Okowa, the immediate past governor of Delta State together with his successor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and other stakeholders in what Vice President Kashim Shettima as a tsunami left the PDP for APC.
Expectedly, after the elaborate ceremony to mark the defection, various reasons have greeted Okowa’s decision, ranging from tactical measure to escape from his ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the irreconcilable leadership crisis rocking his former party, the PDP.
In defence of his defection at the event in Asaba, Okowa had claimed that he did it for the general good of the people of Delta State, emphasising that the decision was driven by the desire to better connect the state to the Federal network for crucial resources and goodwill.
He equally stressed that his defection has nothing to do with any selfish political interest, arguing that “it was not about me or the governor, but about the people and the future of our state. We must defend our state above all else.
“This decision is in the best interest of Deltans, and we must embrace unity within the APC family, including those who have already joined and those who have just come on board.”
These notwithstanding, various criticisms have continued to trail the defection with many blaming it on selfish political interest.
A PDP chieftain, Dele Momodu, said that Okowa’s defection to the APC was an opportunistic move, not for the people as he claimed.
While condemning the defection, Momodu had called it opportunistic and reflective of Nigeria’s declining political values and self-interest.
“It is unfortunate that Nigerian politics has become an optical illusion. Gone are the days when we had politics of principles and ideology. I watched former Governor Okowa being interviewed, and he was struggling to defend the political charlatanry.
“When people say PDP is not doing well, what else does Okowa want? He has been Secretary to Government, governor for eight years, and even a senator. The only way to go was up, and yet, he was given an opportunity to be a running mate to Atiku Abubakar.
“What did he deliver? That is why I said that he was struggling. Going to APC was an opportunistic move. Let us call a spade a spade,” Momodu argued.
Regardless of the impressions by many politically exposed person since the defection, a chieftain of the APC has hinged his move on what he called moral rearmament, explaining that having realised that he went against his conscience and deceived Nigerians in pitching tent with a northern presidential candidate he has decided to atone for his mistake.
The chieftain of the ruling party, who spoke to Sunday Sun in confidence, claimed that beyond other reasons that pressurised him to join the APC, the realisation of his mistake to have sabotaged the South and appeasing for it must have also pushed him to take the decision.
“The governor’s defection is understandable because he is originally part of the plan for the 2027 general elections for both President Tinubu and himself.
“But as for Okowa, apart from the speculations that his ongoing trial with the EFCC was the most singular force pushing him, we will recall that he was among the then Southern PDP governors that met and resolved to support a southerner for president.
“However, he sabotaged the agreement, suddenly, changed and threw his weight behind a northerner to emerge the presidential candidate and even accepted to run on the same ticket as the vice presidential candidate, totally against the decision he took with his fellow southern governors then.
“Now that he has realised the magnitude of his mistake and felt genuinely remorseful about, he has decided make amends and his decision to join the APC could be height of the atonement and moral rearmament over his action during the 2023 presidential election. It is good that he made a bold statement with it.
“Again, having held virtually almost every political position available, what does he actually want again? Where I am driving at is that without ruling out the possibility of evading the long arms of the law through the EFCC trial, that atonement of that moral burden of the mistake he made that time, should be enough reason to push him to join the APC,” the chieftain of the ruling party reasoned.
Already, defending the allegations that compelling Okowa to join the APC was part of the bail conditions the EFCC gave to him, the Chairman of the anti-corruption agency, Olu Kayode, replied that such is not part of the mandate handed over to the agency.
“I don’t know anything about such claims. I have told Nigerians that political witch-hunt has not been introduced into the mandate of the EFCC. We are strictly guided by the provisions of the Act establishing the agency.
“We are strictly guided by the fact that if somebody is suspiciously involved in financial crime or act of corruption, we investigate it and call the person to answer certain questions. For the particular case involving Okowa, Nigerians will agree with me that we started the investigation way back.
“So, for somebody to now introduce politics into it as if we envisaged that they will accuse us of using it as an instrument of bringing somebody into a political party is unfortunate.
“I am not neither the National Chairman or National Secretary of any political party nor do I have the mandate to hand over anybody to any political party. It is not part of the mandate given to my agency. We are driven by the fact to investigate and go after anybody we discovered may have corruptly enriched himself through financial crime.
“We have investigated and prosecuted prominent members of the ruling party. So, could we have done that to chase them away from the party or to reinforce their commitment to the party?
“So, why should we single out a particular case to force the person to join the APC?” Kayode queried, avoiding the question on whether he will reject such directive from President Tinubu to undertake the task.
“We have investigated and prosecuted prominent members of the ruling party. So, could we have done that to chase them away from the party or to reinforce their commitment to the party?
“So, why should we single out a particular case to force the person to join the APC?” Kayode queried, avoiding the question on whether he will reject such directive from President Tinubu to undertake the task.
“We have investigated and prosecuted prominent members of the ruling party. So, could we have done that to chase them away from the party or to reinforce their commitment to the party?
“So, why should we single out a particular case to force the person to join the APC?” Kayode queried, avoiding the question on whether he will reject such directive from President Tinubu to undertake the task.
Credit: The Sun