Okowa: Titanic PDP Dealing With Major Blow, Can Party Avert Total Collapse?

Ahead of the 2027 election, it is surprising that despite the widespread complaints of hardship resulting from President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to attract key opposition figures while changing the political landscape in its favour.

Before now, many Nigerians believed it would be difficult for the incumbent government to win future elections. Opponents have also leveraged the discontent and hardship to stir sentiments and launch campaigns for a change of government and a coalition of political parties.

However, the recent defection of 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa, to the APC alongside Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and other House of Representatives members is not just another political switch but a major blow to the opposition party and a betrayal.

A betrayal not just of a party, but of ideals, trust, mandate, and millions of Nigerians who once clung to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket that asked the masses to believe in something better than what the APC was offering.

During the 2023 election campaign, Okowa stood shoulder to shoulder with the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, asking Nigerians to trust the opposition party with their hopes, votes, futures and the restoration of a better Nigeria.

Today, it is not just embarrassing but saddening that a man entrusted with the second-highest ticket in the country and once shouted “rescue Nigeria” with fiery passion has walked away from that vision to join the very structure they claimed was the problem of Nigeria.

Defection Is Not About Me

Giving a reason for his defection, Okowa said, the move was necessary to enable Delta State to better connect with the federal government and benefit from the resources and goodwill available in Abuja.

He stated, “As I did tell people that day (when I defected), it was not about me; it was not about the governor, but about the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja. That goodwill that is in Abuja, that resource that is in Abuja, of which Delta State is a large contributor there was a need to connect to it.

“I was governor for eight years; I was in opposition. I did my best, but we lost a lot, and I did not believe that the governor needed to keep working very hard without the needed support.”

On his part, Oborevwori asserted that the PDP will not make headways in the forthcoming 2027 election, hence the decision of his administration to form a political alliance with the APC.

Oborevwori said his administration aims to move the state forward, stressing his defection was not to kill the PDP.

He said.“Our desire is not to kill PDP but to move Delta forward, and so we changed our driving pattern. It was obvious that PDP won’t make headway in the forthcoming 2027 election, and so there was a need to move to APC.”

Can PDP Avert Total Collapse?

Following the recent gale of defections and crisis in the PDP, some political analysts and opposition figures believe that the PDP will no longer hold political weight in the future as its symbolic umbrella will be torn.

In an exclusive interview with Naija News, the Deputy Director of Volunteer and Support Groups of the 2023 Presidential Campaign Council of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Taiwo Kuye, said the defection of major political bigwigs in Delta State does not in any way affect the party.

He said, “And by development and diversity, nobody cares about their defections, and they know what is in their cupboard; nobody knows why they are running to Tinubu. So it does not in any way affect PDP, either nationally or in Delta State. So we say affirm the security of PDP in Delta State. There are other responsible leaders there, apart from the governor and local leaders.

“The 2027 election is a different ballgame entirely. Maybe people don’t know. It’s a concept of the over 200 million Nigerians versus APC and Tinubu. It is not PDP versus APC or anything. It is APC and Tinubu versus Nigerians.  So that is not a simple world. It is not a matter of simplicity, political simplicity by saying PDP is going to defeat APC. No, no, no. It is between me, you and other Nigerians versus Tinubu and his days are numbered. And I know people like Okowa, all these governors that are running into APC we come back to PDP with empty stomach. They will come back to PDP with empty stomach because definitely the class course, the course is clear that Tinubu is going back to Lagos. So he will surely be defeated. He is going to be the first president in Nigeria’s history to have only one term.”

Reacting to the decision of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to sue the defectors, Kuye said the development is in the right direction, “The National Working Committee is going by our constitution, and the constitution of the Republic of Nigeria states that if you defect, you will automatically lose your seat, which is very simple.”

The PDP chieftain further dismissed insinuations that the current crisis in the PDP might lead to its total collapse or affect future elections.

He said, “By Tuesday, we will assemble at the NEC meeting. This will be the 300th NEC meeting in the history of PDP. By August 27th, 29th, we are gathering in Kano for the National Convention. So, immediately after that convention, we will rest assured that we are ready for the next elections. Those people proposing that PDP will collapse before 2027, are just saying mere talk. That party, APC is a party of crooks. From the president to the vice president of that party. Look at Akpabio, does he deserve to be a Senate president, or APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, who was caught  with dollars. 
 So there is no party that is as strong as the one that materialised as PDP.  And I am repeating it that TinUbu will not survive the 2027 election. He will go. I can assure you.”