Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, has declared that his former party is not positioned to compete and win the 2027 general elections. Okowa, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, made this assertion in an interview with Arise News on Tuesday.
Okowa cited the PDP Governors Forum’s decision against forming coalitions, made in Ibadan, Oyo State, as a key factor in his assessment. He also highlighted the ongoing national secretary crisis within the PDP as further evidence of the party’s unpreparedness.
“If a party appears on its own as led by the current leadership to make a decision that they were not ready, they are in opposition with much fewer governors than the All Progressives Congress, and the party comes into a decision-making meeting, and they take a decision that there was the need for them to continue alone, and they were not ready for alliances. They were not ready to have mergers with other political parties. The question is, how do they truly want to compete?” Okowa questioned.
He elaborated, “And having looked at this very thoroughly, along with many other things that have been going on within the party, as to various court cases, as to who exactly is the National Secretary of the party, and many other issues, we do not appear to be really ready for competition in the 2027 elections.”
Okowa emphasized that his and Governor Oborevwori’s decision to defect was made after extensive consultations with various stakeholders in Delta State, including political and non-political leaders. He stressed that the move was not solely about individual interests but about securing the political future and resources for the people of Delta State.
“And I thought, in my own opinion, and in the opinion of the vast majority of leaders, because we had different levels of consultation. It was not just a question of a decision of the governor, or a decision between the governor and Dr. Okowa. We had various levels of meetings with several stakeholders, and even had to make consultations with some of our other leaders, who are not even politicians, before we came to this decision,” Okowa explained.
He concluded, “And I think that our decision is right politically. I believe that we mean well for our people, and it is important for us to chart a path for ourselves that we think we can truly trust and that could bring political gains to the people of Delta. And that was why the decision was taken.”
Okowa�s defection, and his pointed criticism of the PDP’s current trajectory, has ignited political discussions concerning the PDP’s outlook, and the shape of the Nigerian political landscape leading up to the 2027 elections.
