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Edwin Clark, an elder statesman and former federal commissioner for information, has urged Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to step down as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) vice presidential candidate for the 2023 general election.
Thursday, Mr. Clark stated this at a news conference in Abuja.
He stated that Mr. Okowa’s candidature for vice president on the PDP ticket was contrary to the South-South Forum’s resolution that the presidency must shift from the North to the South in 2023.
“Mr. Okowa has betrayed his Southern Governors Forum colleagues and the south in general.
“This man has betrayed us by accepting Atiku’s vice presidential nomination. Without me, it would have been challenging for him to become Delta’s governor.
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“What shocked me was that our governor was working with a presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, without our knowledge or consultation.
This individual has betrayed us. In a series of meetings, we all agreed that this man had betrayed us. We can no longer rely on him,” he declared.
Mr. Clark, the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), stated in a letter to Mr. Okowa dated February 2 that both the governor and Atiku would lose the presidential election.
He accused the governor of using state funds to fund the PDP campaign and demanded that he apologise to the entire population of southern Nigeria.
“Today, I can say with absolute certainty that you are more autocratic than any other military administrator who has governed Delta State since its establishment in 1991.
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“I can therefore understand why you deliberately and immorally betrayed your colleagues in Southern Nigeria and the people for your selfish ambition by accepting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s vice presidential nomination.
“No, your prayer will not be answered by God’s grace. Perhaps you have forgotten the gravity of the offence you committed against the citizens of Southern Nigeria.
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“To conceal your nefarious scheme, you persuaded everyone to host a meeting of the 17 Southern governors at Government House Asaba on May 11, 2021. You provided them with a secretariat that drafted the communiqué under your supervision, which was then read by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, the chairman of the Southern Governors Forum.
“It was indeed a bombshell, as you collectively demanded the Southern Presidency and insisted none of you accepts the position of Vice President.
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“Shortly thereafter, the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), which I lead, gave the governors’ declaration its full support and declared that no serving governor, legislator, or politician from the South should accept the position of running mate for Atiku Abubakar.
“The seventeen governors later reconvened in Lagos and Enugu to ratify the decision made at your Government House in Asaba.” We had no idea that you were using this to perfect your secret plan to be Atiku Abubakar’s running mate from the very beginning.
“We are therefore not surprised that you instructed all the delegates from Delta State, who are your neighbours, not to vote for Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State or Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State during last year’s PDP Presidential Primaries. Instead, they voted overwhelmingly for Atiku Abubakar.”
“It should be remembered that in 2007, Delta State funds were used to fund a portion of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s election at the direction of President Olusegun Obasanjo. We were therefore not surprised by your decision to fund Atiku Abubakar with Delta people’s money, given that you have no opposition. I reiterate: you will fail.
“It is therefore in your best interest to publicly apologise to your APC and PDP colleagues whom you misled into supporting a decision you never believed in. After offering an unreserved apology to your people and Southern Nigeria, you should renounce your ambition to become the PDP’s vice-presidential nominee. Therein lies your honour.”
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