ABUJA, Nigeria – Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has described the immediate-past governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, as a “traitor” and a “very crafty man,” accusing him of spending Delta State’s money on the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, Clark alleged that Okowa had contravened an agreement made by southern governors to oppose any party that presented a northern presidential candidate in their primaries, secretly teaming up with Atiku Abubakar for the 2023 election.
He said, “Let me tell you the reason why the whole of southern Nigeria regards Okowa as a traitor… Okowa volunteered to host a meeting of the 17 governors of the south… They drafted the communique supervised by him and gave it to Akeredolu to read… not knowing that the same Okowa was spending our money for Atiku.”
Clark further criticised Okowa’s actions during the PDP primary, asking, “The delegates of the PDP primary, who did they vote for? They all voted for Atiku.
So, he deceived his colleagues that we should produce the president from the south only to team up with Atiku to betray us.”
He concluded by describing Okowa as “a man who is very ambitious, quiet and gives a wrong impression about himself that he is a very good man. Very crafty man.”
This open condemnation comes amid heightened political tensions ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
