I am also an Igbo man- Okowa Roots South-East, South-South
Vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa has said he is from the South-South and fits into all the divides from the South-East region.
Okowa stated this while speaking in an interview with Arise News on the Morning Show, dismissing criticisms that he does not represent the South Eastern geopolitical extraction of Nigeria.
He noted that he does represent not only the South-East but also represents the South-South regions of the country.
Earlier, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, had described the Delta State governor as a bridge between the South and North, stating that he has a root in the South-East and the South-South.
Okowa said, “For me, yes, I’m from Delta State. I’m an Igbo man. There’s no doubt about that. I’m from Delta State in the South-South, but if you’re looking at the Igbos across the country, I’m an Igbo man. I can’t be counted out, which is the true situation.”
“The issue of the vice presidency has not been on the debate where it will go to is premised on the fact that when the presidential candidate emerges, he looks for what possible zone and what person can work with me and what can be part of the team that can make us succeed in governing the people aright. I think that is what informed the decision,” he said.
“I am just a lucky person. Being from the South-South, I am also an Igbo man, and to that extent, I fit into all the divides because my brother is from the South-East, and I’m part of them. I am also part of the South-South, but that does not stop the agitation for the future as it stands for the Igbo for the presidency of this country,” he added.
The Governor noted that Atiku’s emergence as the presidential candidate of the PDP is a good sign for the future of the South-East region.
“There are two geo-political zones that feel shortchanged; The North-East (where Atiku is from) and the South-East geo-political zone, because none of them, no son from these zones, have been president of this nation. They have a point, and I believe that we sympathise with them.
“And I also believe that since one of us has emerged from the North-East at this point, it’s a good sign for the future, that if the North East has the opportunity and by God’s grace Atiku becomes the president, then it’s a good sign that the South-East will have the opportunity.
“Because the next point in time we will be talking about is that the South-East itself is the only zone that is left, and they will lay claim to it,” he said.
