By Chibuike Nwabuko
I have always been of the view that “humans should leave unrevealed things to God.” At least this is what I use to distract myself from state of affairs I cannot explain why they happen the way they happened.
Fast-forward to Sen Ifeanyi Okowa’s defection. By abandoning the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has unwittingly justified every grievance Nyesom Wike ever had against the PDP’s 2023 presidential campaign and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar. In the heat of the 2023 elections, Wike was vilified for rejecting a campaign arrangement that sidelined the South, undermined zoning, and foisted an uninspiring running mate on the ticket. Today, with Okowa shamelessly pitching tent with the ruling APC, less than two years after he named VP of the PDP in 2023, Wike’s rebellion has gained retrospective legitimacy.
Let us not mince words: Okowa’s defection is not merely a personal political realignment; it is a damning indictment of his own character and of the very judgment that led the PDP to make him Atiku’s running mate. How does one explain the sudden embrace of a party he spent years criticizing? What exactly has changed in the APC between 2023 and now? Absolutely nothing, except that the APC now offers refuge from accountability.
Okowa’s attitude exposes what Wike and the G5 governors were trying to prevent: the elevation of spineless politicians lacking in courage, clarity, and conviction to positions of national significance. His inability to withstand the political heat after just one cycle of electoral loss or and one formal invitation to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reveals a timidity and hollowness that disqualify him from the rigorous, pressure-laden office of Vice President in a complex country like Nigeria.
Even more disturbing is the question of what Okowa is running from. What is the atrocity he committed as Governor of Delta State that he now seeks the protective cover of APC to shield himself from? His tenure has been trailed by accusations of financial recklessness, ballooning debt profiles, and unaccounted federal allocations. Is he unable—or unwilling—to defend his record in the face of scrutiny? If so, why perpetrate acts that you know you cannot justify when the time of reckoning comes?
It is an insult to public intelligence for a former governor and VP candidate to slither into the ruling party like a thief in the night, hoping for immunity through political alignment. Such political cowardice reinforces the argument that many Nigerian politicians are not ideologically driven but are opportunists seeking cover when the music stops.
Okowa’s move is not only a betrayal of his party; it is a betrayal of the South-South, of the PDP supporters who defended him, and of the basic principles of political integrity. Wike may have been combative, but at least he was consistent, transparent, and rooted in principle. Okowa, on the other hand, has revealed himself as a man too afraid to stand alone and too compromised to stand for anything.
