We Believed Our Pathway To Victory Was To Have A Northerner Candidate, We Were Not A Majority -Okowa

Ifeanyi Okowa, the Peoples Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, has explained why the party chose a Northern candidate despite calls for a Southern presidency. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Okowa stated that party stalwarts believed that supporting a Northerner was the only way to gain power.

As a party member, Okowa stated that he could not allow demands for a Southern presidency to sway him from focusing on the success of the party in the upcoming election. He acknowledged the calls for a Southern candidate, but ultimately believed that the party’s best chance at winning was to support a Northern candidate.

Okowa said majority of the people in the party believed that since they were not the ruling party, the only thing that could guarantee them the numbers is to back a northern candidate.

Okowa said “the whole truth behind the whole thing, is that if you are going to back a situation, you must ensure that it is right for your party, it was the question I raised when people said it was a betrayal. I belong to the PDP, for me as a person and majority of the people in the PDP, they believed our pathway to victory was to have a northern candidate and a southern vice candidate. We were not a majority.”

Okowa’s comments come after the PDP’s presidential primary election, which saw the party nominate a Northern candidate. The decision has sparked controversy and criticism from some members of the party who believe that a Southern candidate would have been a better choice.

Despite this criticism, Okowa remains steadfast in his belief that the party made the right decision in choosing a Northern candidate. He emphasized the importance of party unity and the need to support the chosen candidate in order to achieve success in the 2023 election.