Governor of Delta State, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa’s reported hope of using his position as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Presidential running mate, to gain substantial votes from the South East in the upcoming 2023 election may have been dashed, as MASSOB, the pan- Igbo socio-cultural organization has accused him of being a deceiptive and treacherous politician who is now deceiptively claiming to be part of what he has openly rejected in the past.
The Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, recently issued a strong statement warning the PDP presidential running mate not to waste his time counting on the support of the South East because he would be disappointed as he is a treacherous character who can’t be regarded as being of Igbo stock.
Okowa, who hails from Ika North East in Delta State, had during a national television interview recently, claimed to be an Igbo man, adding that his emergence as the PDP presidential running mate to the Party’s Presidential candidate, Alh Atiku Abubakar, also translates to his representation of the South East.
“Being from the South-South, I’m also an Igbo man. I fit into all the divides. My brothers in the South-East, I’m part of them. I’m also part of the South-South”, Okowa had said.
But in a quick and vexed reaction by MASSOB recently, the leader of the group Uchenna Madu, alleged that the Delta State Governor had on several occasions, denied being an Igbo indigene.
According to the MASSOB chief, Okowa’s recent claim of being an Igbo man was one of his treacherous and unpopular tricks of trying to attract the support of the South East for PDP’s presidential bid.
The group reminded the governor that over the past seven years when he took over the leadership of Delta State, he has refused to identify himself as an Igbo, saying that Okowa has consistently denied his affinity to the South East because of his loyalty to another demographic group.
“Because of Okowa”s nomination as Atiku”s running mate, he now feels that he is representing the position of Ndigbo.
“MASSOB wishes to remind Governor Okowa that Ndigbo are wiser now. Okowa is not representing Ndigbo. The political stake of Ndigbo is no longer in PDP.
“MASSOB warn Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State to stay clear of Igbo land because he is not welcomed. Governor Okowa can not accept what he openly denied. Ndigbo are not fools”, the group stated.
It would be recalled that sometime in June 2017, Gov. Okowa through one of his Media Assistants, Mr Ossai Ovie, had declared that Okowa and Delta State is not a part of Biafra.
Ovie asked the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to remove the state from the map the group reportedly created.
