2023: Okowa Replies Tinubu Over Comment On His Personality

Governor of Delta State and Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Okowa, has slammed the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, over a recent comment.

Naija News reports that Tinubu had in a recent statement reportedly claimed that his running mate and former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, was better than him.

Reacting, Okowa in a statement on Friday by his spokesman, Olisa Ifeajika, advised Tinubu to discuss issues confronting the nation and not individuals.

He added that the Atiku Abubakar/Ifeanyi Okowa ticket was a big threat to the ruling APC and the former Lagos Governor is scared of losing the 2023 presidential election to the PDP.

Okowa said that he was chosen as Atiku’s running mate due to his soaring political profile, his contributions to national development and his exceptional performance as governor in the last seven years.

He said the choice of who was the better vice presidential candidate and the party to vote for remained with Nigerians and not for one individual to try to influence by speaking derogatorily about opponents.

He said: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had an interview on Arise TV some days ago where he said that Sen. Bola Tinubu approached him to become his running mate of the defunct ACN in 2007, but that he (Atiku) declined the request because he was averse to Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“In response to Atiku’s comments, rather than address the issues Atiku Abubakar raised, Senator Tinubu took a swipe at our governor, saying that his own running mate was better than Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s choice of Senator Okowa.

“We know Senator Bola Tinubu as a good politician and former governor of Lagos State. But we expect him to know that there are other politicians that are towering and are good, patriotic and have tried in their tracks to be statesmen.

“And, Delta Gôvernor and by the grace of God, Vice-Presidential Candidate of PDP, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, is in this bracket. If Tinubu thinks that he is good, he should not foreclose that there won’t be other persons that are good or even better in politics where he thrives.

“It was his choice to pick his own running mate for whatever criteria he had. The same considerations, no doubt, the Presidential Candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had in choosing Senator Ifeanyi Okowa over all the other candidates screened.”

Tinubu’s Character To Abuse

Okowa said he is not surprised that the APC presidential candidate resulted in abuse and fails to discuss important issues in the polity.

He said: “Senator Bola Tinubu has been in the news lately for what we know is not for good reasons. We are not surprised that he took an unwarranted swipe at the PDP Vice-Presidential Candidate because that is his patent. It’s his character to abuse and not discuss.

“We recall that Tinubu had boasted that he made Buhari the President and that it was, therefore, his turn to be the President of Nigeria. In other words, he has been putting people there, but now it is his turn to be.

“Those who follow social media would have seen the mockery that followed that comment.

“He, Tinubu has also been reported to have said that in attaining his ambition of being president, he was going to fight dirty.

“And, in reference to the Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, he reportedly said that the man will labour in vain.

“These are the languages Senator Tinubu has come to be identified with. So, we are not surprised that in attempt to get back to Alhaji Abubakar, who said that Tinubu approached him to be his running mate and he refused, he, (Tinubu) took a swipe at an innocent man, Okowa, who is not in direct contest with him.

“We are asking Tinubu to face his contest. He has a joint ticket with whom he has chosen as his running mate just as Atiku has done. So, he should be preoccupied with how to go to the contest and leave the campaign of calumny.

“He should be discussing issues affecting the general wellbeing of the people, not discussing individuals.”

Okowa’s Political Pedigree

Okowa said Tinubu’s statement would not in any way diminish his political pedigree, adding that he has his records in the public domain.

The governor said he is not like the APC presidential candidate who had no certificate to show to meet part of the constitutional requirements for contesting the election.

He said: “Dr Okowa, as governor and Vice Presidential candidate of PDP, has his CV in the public domain. He has a record and he is a man that is well known. So, a Tinubu’s swipe can not diminish what Okowa has attained.

“Senator Tinubu should confine himself to the contest he has. He has so much around him to deal with, given the size of baggage that people know that he has.

“In the national turf, apart from being ‘the national leader’ of APC, as the members say, what we have on Tinubu is that he was a senator for a very short period and a two-term former governor.

“Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa was a senator and a two-term governor. So, it is for Nigerians to judge who is a better person in all of these. Who has done well, for not just his state, but the country, adding value?

“Okowa as a senator, was behind the birthing of our national health policy currently being enjoyed by Nigerians. So, Nigerians need to assess what Tinubu and Okowa have in the public domain and know who is better”.