‘I Have Seen The Light’ — Okowa Explains Defection From Atiku To Tinubu

Former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has defined his choice to desert former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and help President Bola Tinubu, saying he has “seen the light” within the insurance policies and financial route of the present administration.

Okowa, who was Atiku’s operating mate within the 2023 presidential election, made the remarks on Saturday throughout the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential marketing campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The former governor, who’s now the APC senatorial candidate for Delta North, stated his choice to hitch the ruling celebration was knowledgeable by his conviction that Tinubu was taking tough however vital choices to handle Nigeria’s longstanding financial challenges.

READ ALSO:

Nigeria Govt Seeks Fresh $500m World Bank Loan For Infrastructure Development

Five Cities, One Flood, Same Story: How West Africa Paid Billions To Stay Dry — And Still Drowned

NAEC Releases Communiqué, Says Nigeria’s Energy Gap Is Not Only About Assets But Access

“You all know that in 2023 I was on another ticket, but I have seen the light, and I have seen what Mr President is doing for Nigeria,” Okowa stated.

He added that he had crossed over to the APC to help Tinubu, whom he described as a pacesetter dedicated to rebuilding the nation’s financial basis.

“It is the suitable factor to be carried out, and I’ve way back crossed to the APC to hitch fingers with Mr President as a result of he’s actually constructing a brand new Nigeria.

“When the foundation is broken, you cannot do anything. Mr President realises that successive administrations have broken the foundations of Nigeria. And today, we are on the right course because that foundation is being put right,” he acknowledged.

Okowa additionally defended the Federal Government’s fiscal and financial reforms, arguing that the insurance policies had strengthened income allocations to state and native governments, thereby enhancing their capability to fulfill monetary obligations and execute developmental initiatives.

According to him, elevated allocations have enabled many subnational governments to pay employees’ salaries, settle pension obligations and embark on infrastructure initiatives.

“Today, our states and local governments are doing so well because Mr President has continued to mobilise resources for various states and our local governments,” he stated.

“We not speak about individuals owing salaries; we not speak about individuals owing pensioners. Our native governments are doing initiatives, our states are doing initiatives, and we are able to pay salaries.

“Only a man who understands a nation’s economy can do this. The wonders that were done in Lagos are already being done in our country, Nigeria,” Okowa added.

Okowa’s newest feedback mark one other public expression of his help for Tinubu, following his political realignment after the 2023 basic election.

In 2022, Atiku had chosen Okowa as his operating mate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket, a call that generated controversy throughout the celebration, notably amongst supporters of the then Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had additionally been thought of for the place.

The alternative of Okowa reportedly deepened divisions throughout the PDP, with disagreements over the celebration’s zoning association and the distribution of key political positions.

Atiku and Okowa subsequently contested the 2023 presidential election however misplaced to Tinubu and his operating mate on the APC platform.

In April 2025, Okowa publicly expressed remorse over accepting the vice-presidential nomination, arguing that the PDP management had did not adequately take into account the South’s curiosity in producing the successor to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He maintained that the celebration’s choice to area a northern presidential candidate contributed to its electoral difficulties, together with its poor efficiency in Delta State throughout the 2023 presidential election.