Yemi Obafemi
Senator Abba Moro, representing Benue South, has criticized the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) decision to pick former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the vice presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, describing it as a “serious mistake.”
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Moro said with the benefit of hindsight, many within the party now believe that the PDP could have won the presidential election if a different candidate from the South had been chosen to run alongside Atiku Abubakar.
“I think there was an error of judgment on the part of everybody that was involved in the choice of Okowa,” he said. “How else would you characterise a scenario where a sitting governor, a former senator, and a vice presidential candidate could not even deliver his own state?”
Moro pointed out that in Delta State — Okowa’s home state — two of the three senators elected were from opposition parties, suggesting a significant disconnect between Okowa and his constituents during the campaign.
“And to think that two out of the senators from that state were from the opposition parties other than the PDP.
“So, I think that picking Okowa as the vice presidential candidate in 2023 was a very serious mistake.”
“As it is now You can safely conclude that we lost the election because of lack of commitment.”
Moro also accused Okowa of lacking genuine commitment to the PDP and the presidential campaign.
“His soul was not in the PDP. His soul was not in that election, and that is why we performed very miserably in Delta State.
“He has his own place as a very strong member, as a two-time presidential candidate of the party. Yes, if he leaves, it will create a vacuum.”
He also accused Okowa of lacking genuine commitment to the PDP and the presidential campaign.
“His soul was not in the PDP. His soul was not in that election, and that is why we performed very miserably in Delta State,” the senator stated.
While acknowledging Okowa’s influence as a two-time presidential aspirant and senior party figure, Moro warned that his possible exit from the PDP could leave a vacuum, but maintained that the damage done during the 2023 elections remains significant
