Atiku reveals Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate for 2023

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has chosen Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta as his running mate ahead of the 2023 presidential election, TopNaija reports.

Okowa. governor since 2015, was chosen from the ranks of serving governors and credentialed politicians in the South-East and South-South regions.

Mr Okowa was made the ultimate nominee after a fierce contest with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers. The choice was believed to be in the best interest of the party as it seeks a return to power next year.

Mr Abubakar’s allies said he picked Mr Okowa because he promised to run a campaign based strictly on issues critical to Nigerians, and Mr Wike might derail that approach with his combative nature.

The candidate was also keen on having a running mate to bridge the enthusiasm gap between the South-South and South-East, The Gazette learnt from insiders. Mr Wike had been selected as the preferred nominee two days ago by a panel of PDP governors and politicians.

Mr Abubakar later announced Mr Okowa as his running mate in a tweet Thursday morning.

“I am delighted to announce Governor @IAOkowa as my Vice Presidential candidate. I look forward to travelling our great country together, engaging with all Nigerians and building a shared future of peace, unity, and prosperity for all. As One We Can Get It Done,” Mr Abubakar said.

The following are five things you must know about the Delta State governor who was chosen ahead of Wike and Emmanuel.

Background

Okowa hails from Delta State and was born at Owa-Alero in Ika North-East Local Government Area of the state. He attended Edo College, Benin City (1970–1976). After his secondary school education, he proceeded to the University of Ibadan where he studied Medicine and Surgery and graduated in 1981 with an MBBS degree.

After his National Youth Service (NYSC), he worked with the Bendel State Hospitals Management Board as a Medical Officer. He entered private practice as Director, Victory Medical Centre, Igbanke in 1986.

Foray into politics

Okowa became Secretary to the Ika Local Government and then Chairman of the Ika North-East Local Government Council (1991–1993). He joined the PDP in 1998 and assisted in Governor James Ibori’s campaign in 1998/1999.

Three-time commissioner

He also served as a Commissioner in the Delta State Government for Agriculture and Natural Resources (July 1999 – April 2001), Water Resources Development (April 2001 – May 2003) and Health (September 2003 – October 2006).

Senatorial stint

Okowa was elected Delta North Senatorial candidate in the January 2011 PDP primaries with 942 votes, but the result was challenged by party leaders who favoured Marian Amaka Alli as the party’s candidate.

He, however, won the rerun election where he scored 1,446 votes, against 108 votes for Dr. Marian Alli.

In the April 2011 election for the Delta North Senatorial seat, Okowa won 98,140 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Prince Ned Munir Nwoko of the Democratic People’s Party, who polled 67,985 votes.

Governorship ambition

Okowa resigned to contest the 2007 Delta State PDP governorship primaries but did not win the governorship primaries. In June 2007, Ifeanyi was appointed Secretary to the Delta State Government.

Unperturbed by the setback, Okowa finally clinched the ticket for the gubernatorial election in 2015 under the PDP with 406 votes on 8 December 2014.

With his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate, Okowa won the state’s governorship election in April 2015 with 724,680 votes. He was inaugurated as governor on 29 May 2015.

Also, Okowa was elected for a second term on March 9, 2019 governorship election. He polled 925,274 votes to defeat his opponent, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Great Ogboru, with 215,938 votes.