PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: Former Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged voters across the South-South region to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, arguing that the administration should be given another term to sustain its economic reforms and development programmes.
Okowa made the appeal on Saturday at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) South-South campaign for Tinubu’s re-election in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he called on party members, supporters and undecided voters to unite behind the President.
The former governor, who is the APC candidate for Delta North Senatorial District, said his support for Tinubu followed his assessment of the President’s policies and their potential to reposition the Nigerian economy.
He also defended his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC alongside Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, saying he had become convinced that the ruling party offered the direction he believed Nigeria needed.
Reflecting on his political position during the 2023 general election, when he contested as the PDP vice-presidential candidate alongside Atiku Abubakar, Okowa acknowledged that he had previously belonged to a different political camp.
“You all know that in 2023 I was in another ticket but I have seen the light and I have seen what Mr President is doing for Nigeria. It is the right thing to be done and I have, along with my governor, long ago crossed to the APC to join hands with Mr President, because he is truly building a new Nigeria,” he said.
Okowa maintained that the South-South should take an active position in the movement seeking Tinubu’s return to office, insisting that the region should not be left out of the administration’s development agenda.
He argued that the President’s economic policies and infrastructure initiatives had provided reasons for the region to support the continuation of his administration.
The former governor urged APC leaders and supporters across the South-South to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections, while appealing to voters who had yet to decide their political allegiance to consider supporting Tinubu and other party candidates.
His endorsement marks a significant political shift from his position in the 2023 presidential election, when he served as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the PDP ticket against Tinubu, who contested under the APC.
