LAGOS JUNE 18TH (URHOBOTODAY)-On Friday, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) condemned Delta State Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa for accepting Atiku Abubakar’s nomination as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Presidential Candidate in the upcoming 2023 general elections as his running mate.

Chief Edwin Clark, of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF); Chief Ayo Adebanjo, of Afenifere; Dr. Dru Bitrus, President-General, Middle Belt Forum; and Prof. George Obiozor, President-General, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, signed a statement.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the current Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum and a native of Owa-Alero in Delta State’s Ika North-East Local Government Area (one of the Igbo-speaking areas), was described as “unspeakable” and “disappointing” by the elder statesmen.

They recalled that on May 11, 2021, 17 Southern governors from both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), convened in Asaba, Delta State, under the chairmanship of Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and made far-reaching decisions, including that the presidency should rotate to the South at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s statutory eight-year term.

Governor Okowa hosted the historic meeting, according to them, and the Southern governors met again in Lagos on July 5 to reaffirm their decision, and again in Enugu on September 16 to restate the call for the presidency to rotate to the South in 2023.

“It is therefore most unfortunate that Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the Governor of Delta State, who should have known better, accepted Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s nomination as his running mate.” We have no personal grudges against Ifeanyi Okowa, but his actions are treasonous and amount to a despicable pawning of the people of Southern Nigeria’s political future.” According to the document,

Governor Okowa has betrayed the trust placed in him by his colleagues, the southern governors, the entire good people of southern Nigeria, and all well-meaning Nigerians, according to the group, adding that he has made himself persona non grata, not only with the SMBLF, but with all citizens who value our unity and yearn for a more united and peaceful Nigeria.

The group said it had rejected Okowa for the position of vice president, calling his actions “a betrayal of the highest order” by the governor.

It went on to say that this isn’t a matter of party loyalty, but rather a greedy, parochial, and unpatriotic act against the general interest of his state, Delta State, the Niger Delta region, and Southern Nigeria. It’s also not good for the country as a whole.