Why Southern Governors regard Okowa as a traitor — Edwin Clark

According to Clark, the 17 southern governors ahead of the 2023 presidential election had resolved to oppose any party that presents a northern presidential candidate in their primaries, but Okowa went behind his colleagues to team up with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

The 96-year-old politician said this during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

Clark alleged that Okowa emerged as Atiku’s running mate for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after spending Delta State money for Atiku’s campaign.

“Let me tell you the reason why the whole of southern Nigeria regard Okowa as a traitor. Let me tell you, he is a betrayer. Okowa volunteered to host a meeting of the 17 governors of the south. He provided accommodation for everyone one of them. He provided his secretariat, I know the person who was the secretary to the government at the time. They were there, they drafted the communique supervised by him and given to Akeredolu to read. He read it, then they all went to Lagos to confirm it, they went to Enugu to confirm it, not knowing that the same Okowa was spending our money for Atiku. I asked him in my letter to answer it”. 

Clark further said that Okowa deceived his colleagues alleging that the Delta State delegates that participated in the PDP primary election ignored Nyesom Wike and Emmanuel Udom and cast their votes for Atiku, despite the southern governors' resolution against northern presidential candidates.

“The delegates of the PDP primary, who did they vote for? Did they vote for Wike or for Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom? 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. All the governors know about that. He is a man who is very ambitious, quiet, and giving a wrong impression about himself that he is a very good man. Very crafty man!”, he said.

You’ll recall that in September 2021, southern governors unanimously agreed that the 2023 presidency must be zoned to their region for the sake of justice and fairness.

But days after the PDP primaries, Atiku picked Okowa as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.