Wike Was Right—Okowa

<h4>Wike Was Right<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a> <&sol;strong>reports that former Delta State Governor&comma; Dr&period; Ifeanyi Okowa&comma; has said he regretted his decision to run as the vice-presidential candidate alongside Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election&comma; admitting that it contradicted the zoning and wishes of his people&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His admittance confirms that the position of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory &lpar;FCT&rpar;&comma; Nyesom Wike&comma; on the basis of President of southern extraction in 2023&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In earlier reports Wike had opened up on why he fiercely opposed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition during the 2023 elections&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In a media chat&comma; Wike said his opposition to Atiku was rooted in principle&comma; particularly his stance on power rotation to the south after Muhammadu Buhari’s two-term tenure&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I wanted power to rotate&comma;” Wike said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;After eight years of Buhari from the North&comma; it would have been unfair for another northerner to take over&period; It wasn’t about being chosen or not — it was about fairness&period; I looked at the options&comma; and Atiku wasn’t one&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Dismissing the popular belief that he turned against Atiku because he wasn’t picked as the vice-presidential candidate&comma; Wike clarified&colon; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;He never dropped me because he didn’t even pick me&period; I already knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;27972" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-27972" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-27972" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;01&sol;PDP-and-apc-300x169&period;png" alt&equals;"Wike Was Right---Okowa" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"169" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-27972" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>APC and PDP<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Speaking on Arise Television Tuesday morning&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;pulse&period;ng&sol;">Ifeanyi Okowa<&sol;a> who&comma; alongside governor Sheriff Oborevwori&comma; just defected to APC described his acceptance of the VP role as a misalignment with the prevailing sentiments in Delta State — an issue he said he has deeply reflected upon&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Coming short of saying Wike was right&comma; Okowa said&comma; &&num;8220&semi;Even when we were campaigning&comma; I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;But the decision had already been taken at the federal level by the party &lpar;PDP&rpar; and I had been nominated&period; Still&comma; in retrospect&comma; I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;18599" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-18599" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-18599" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;12&sol;okowa-2&period;fw&lowbar;-300x146&period;png" alt&equals;"Wike Was Right---Okowa" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"146" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-18599" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Former governor Ifeanyi Okowa<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;