By Abiola Olawale
The immediate past governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa has dropped a bombshell, claiming that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is preparing to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okowa, the 2023 PDP vice-presidential candidate, in an interview on ARISE News, said he spoke with Atiku, who confirmed to him that he is planning to leave the PDP.
This comes after recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and other PDP stalwarts.
He stated: “I did communicate with him that we were going to have stakeholders meetings this week (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 were no longer comfortable with the PDP.
“And I also know that he is already heading out of the PDP from the communications he has passed on to me and that Nigerians know already.”
Speaking further, Okowa expressed regret for not aligning with his people in supporting a southern candidate in 2023 instead of accepting the role as Atiku’s running mate.
He added: “Even when we were campaigning, I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power.
“But the decision had already been taken at the federal level by the party, and I had been nominated. Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people.”
He added that the election of the current Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, proves that the people still have confidence in their leadership.
Okowa added: “That showed the people still believed in us, believed in me. They said you’ve done well, and we will support the governor you have chosen. And they did.”
