Okowa says “If you look at Obi’s experience you’ll know it’s small.”
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State says Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), does not have the needed experience in governance to lead Nigeria.
Why he said so: Okowa who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it would be hard for Obi to rely on his previous experience as governor of Anambra state to rule Nigeria.
The Governor of Delta State said this in an interview with BBC Pidgin.
He also urged Nigerian youths to vote wisely in the forthcoming election, adding that the country needed the right person to emerge as the next president next year.
“I did not say he won’t have any votes, he will have. But what I’m saying is that he’s not a new candidate. It has not been long since he left PDP. You know he was in APGA before, from APGA he came to PDP. It hasn’t been long since he left (PDP) so he cannot say anything about PDP because that’s where he was before,” he said.
“Some of us are still here. At every party, there are good people and bad people. But today’s Nigeria is very troubled and we need the right person. That is why I am appealing to our youths to be wise and vote well, the concept of a false change should not blind them because that is how they raved on Jonathan in 2015.
“His (Obi) previous experience is not enough for this one (presidency), it will be hard. His experience is not deep enough. Even as a current governor ruling in a crisis, I know how hard it is. I even want to learn under Atiku because he has experience with the federal government. The thing is not easy. For them to have handled the economy at that time and made it something better, offering hope, creating jobs, and filtering the society, was not easy because it’s a bigger thing. So someone is supposed to learn through that. If you look at Obi’s experience you’ll know it’s small”.
PDP Crisis: On the crisis in the PDP, Okowa said he’s been making an effort to reach out to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Since Okowa emerged as the PDP’s vice presidential candidate, Wike has been at loggerheads with the party.
But according to Okowa, the party is trying to talk to Wike to settle the rift in the party.
“We’ve been talking internally, everything is being settled. You know that when something happens and everybody can’t agree, it’s settled bit by bit. That is what we’re still working on from the inside. We are finding a way to talk. I’ll say, he is my friend, I am his friend, and we will find a way to talk,” he said.
“Atiku has said his own version of what happened, and I am sure that version he said is the true position. I am also not saying that Wike is lying, but if someone carries their anger, it is important to air your views. For us at the party, it’s about how to bring everybody together, how all of us can work together.
Describing Wike as a very important member of the PDP, Okowa said the governor had worked so hard for the party.