PDP presidential flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar, has nominated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate in the 2023 presidential elections.
It ends weeks of speculation about who will be Atiku’s running mate since he won the party ticket in a very contentious convention on 28 May 2022.
Atiku said the decision was a tough choice from those “eminently qualified shortlisted” but he wanted a running mate that had “the potential to succeed me at a moment’s notice, that is, a President-in-waiting”, and “someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and give honest advice, and, be by my side as I work very hard to reverse the destructive impact of the past seven years of the APC government“.
The top job was reportedly fiercely contested by powerful interests in the party, including maverick politician and governor of oil-rich Rivers State, Nyesom Wike who actually came second to Atiku in the party’s presidential primaries, and ex-Senate President Pius Anyim among others.
Reacting to the announcement, Gov Okowa said he considered his nomination as a “rare privilege” and pledged to join hands with his principal “to rescue our country from the precipice”.
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