PDP Crisis: Afegbua Lauds Wike, Claims Okowa Betrayed Southern Governors

Prince Kassim Afegbua, a former commissioner for information in the Edo State government, charged Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State, on Friday with betraying his fellow members of the Southern Governors Forum by attempting to keep the presidency in the North.

Afegbua, a former PDP chieftain, stated in an interview that Okowa disregarded the Southern Governors’ decision to return the presidency to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office and instead supported Atiku Abubakar in choosing the PDP presidential ticket.

Afegbua also praised Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, for speaking out against the political unbalance in the PDP, claiming that those who called the governor combative couldn’t refute his claim with stronger justifications.

“Politicians generally don’t want to be told the truth. Why do you think Wike is fighting? Can anybody fault Wike’s reasoning and position on issues? They said he is garrulous, uncouth, lousy, and combative. Are those the issues? What Wike is saying is, has anybody been able to controvert them with superior arguments?

“17 Southern Governors met in Asaba in what they called ‘Asaba Declaration’. After that, they met in Lagos, Enugu and Umuahia to reaffirm and reemphasize their demands, but the likes of Ifeanyi Okowa who hosted the first meeting, were going through the backdoor to support an Atiku presidency”.

“That is what I find to be very nauseating and non statesmanly. At a certain point in my life, I must be clear-headed in my objectives, vision, and my mission. I wouldn’t want anyone to take me for a ride. I am always driven by my convictions. If my convictions are not right for a particular project, I will rather not participate in that project than go through the backdoor and stab people in the back because I wanted to make an impression.

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“Okowa has taken the handshake beyond the elbow, and the record of history will put it very succinctly. It doesn’t matter whether he becomes Vice-President tomorrow but the process leading to that VP is faulty.

“Everybody you talk to now will say Okowa is a betrayer. That is not a good narrative to leave for his family. At any point in life, don’t be selfish with your political interests, rather, look at the bigger picture.

 “Was Okowa thinking that the South were not reasonable to be asking for the presidency after Buhari’s eight years?” he added.