A former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Jacob Mark, has said that the defection of Ifeanyi Okowa, a former
governor of Delta State to the All Progressives Congress, APC, will not cause
any tsunami in the main opposition.
According to him, there is no political mileage to be gained
with Okowa’s defection to APC, adding that the former governor could not
deliver his state to the PDP in 2023 even as the vice presidential candidate of
the party.
Speaking on Arise, Mark noted that if Okowa could not
deliver his state as running mate to Atiku Abubakar, it beggars belief as to
what kind of tsunami his defection to the APC will cause the PDP.
DAILY POST reported that on Wednesday, the governor of Delta
State, Sheriff Oborevwori, and the 2023 running mate to Atiku Abubakar of the
PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa, joined the ruling
party, along with National Assembly and state assembly members from the state,
as well as local government chairmen from the state.
“Truthfully, there is no political party that will be
celebrating the departure of a sitting government. So truth be told, that is a
big one for a sitting governor to leave a political party,” Mark said.
He continued, “But whether that amounts to an earthquake is
something else to discuss, because we all know that in the 2023 election, the
former governor of Delta State was the running mate to Atiku Abubarkar and he
could not deliver his state to the PDP.
“So sometimes these big men have their role, but their level
of control politically, and when it comes to elections, is something that must
be interrogated. As a running mate, if he could not deliver his state, it goes
a long way to say what tsunami he can cause by being in APC.
“And particularly also, when you look at the state where
this is happening, the people of Delta state have consistently displayed
electoral capacity to think for themselves, to take decisions that are
beneficial to themselves, not necessarily the decisions of stakeholders or
governors or senators, the people of Delta State must be respected.
“It is possible that the governor and the former governor
have their interests which may not be the same interest as the interest of the
electorate. And this must be put in perspective.
“And just like I said, the example I gave, he didn’t move
the people to vote for him, even when the people stood a chance of having a
vice president from their state.
“So it’s questionable whether, indeed, having moved to the
APC, the people will follow him.
“And generally on these issues of defection, it is a
constitutional right for people to shift based on what interest they wish to
protect, not necessarily because the APC as a government is performing, not
necessarily because the electorate are happy.
“And that will be tested whether people are happy, whether
people are excited that the government of today is performing and is delivering
on all its promises, is something else that will be tested, not necessarily,
whether the big men move into a PC or not.
“This is being seen all over the country, in different
states, people are moving some because they want to get political mileage. Some
because they think that by being the APC they can get appointments. Some
because they have negotiated some things that are not known to the general
public, for themselves, not for the communities they represent. So defections
are okay, as far as the Nigerian, eh, kind of politics is concerned.
“We are not operating based on any ideology. As far as I’m
concerned, all the political parties are the same.
“They represent no defined ideology that anybody can stick
to, and that is why you wake up in the morning. One man is moving to this
party. The next day, another man is moving to the other party. “
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