Clark accuses Okowa of betraying South

The main South South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Thursday accused Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa and vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of betraying southern Nigeria by accepting a running mate belong to a northern candidate, Atiku. Abubakar, in the February 25 presidential elections.

He also accused the governor of being dictatorial and terrifying the state’s population.

Chief Clark, the leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), made the allegations during a press conference at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja, where he also claimed that the Delta governor is not accountable in running the state.

Reading from a prepared open letter to the governor entitled “Your Dictatorial Government and the Reign of Irresponsibility in Delta State,” the former federal commissioner of education under General Yakubu Gowon’s military administration said: “Your Excellency, my letter will come before surprise you at my unusual silence about your nearly eight years of governance in Delta State, but my unusual silence doesn’t mean I turned a blind eye to your corruption and abuse of power.

‘This is especially in view of my activities during your predecessor’s reign, where I openly criticized them, and was denounced as a troublemaker by my opponents; hence I have not traded for some time during your administration.

“It is therefore my intention to release some of this ugly information to the people of Delta State about your lack of sincerity, lack of fairness and lack of transparent governance.

“This is mainly because the Delta people are afraid of you and unable to speak out against your government. Most of them have been reduced to mere robots due to self-interest or personal patronage or the allowances they receive from the government.

“I am indeed deeply saddened that some of our leaders of the state who betrayed us in Abuja during Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s presidential primaries in 2010/2011 have moved to Delta State to continue their evil plan once again. Let them be warned, otherwise they will be exposed.”

On what he called the betrayal of sacred trust, Clark stated that despite hosting the southern governors’ meeting in Asaba, the capital of the delta state, where it was decided that the presidency would go south and that no single southern governor reneged on an nomination as a running mate of a northern presidential candidate, Okowa.

He said it was no wonder then that the governor was not committed to chairing the Southern Governors Forum because of his political ambition.

The elder statesmen therefore demanded a public apology from Okowa to his peer southern governors whom he allegedly betrayed.

Clark, who is also the leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), added: “Today I say with confidence that you are more dictatorial than any other military administrator who has run Delta State since its founding in 1991. I can therefore understand why you have deliberately and immorally betrayed your colleagues of Southern Nigeria and the people for your selfish ambition of wanting to land on safer ground by accepting to serve as running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

‘No, by God’s grace your prayer will not be answered. Perhaps you have forgotten the gravity of the offense you committed against the people of Southern Nigeria.

“To cover up your nefarious plot, you voluntarily persuaded everyone to host a meeting of the 17 southern governors at Government House Asaba on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

“You welcomed them very well and provided them with a secretariat who, under your supervision, drafted the communiqué, which was expertly read by the chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State. It was indeed a bombshell, as you collectively demanded the southern presidency and insisted that none of you would accept to be vice president.

“Soon afterward, the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), which I lead, gave 100% support to the governor’s statement, stating that no southern-serving governor, legislator, or politician should accept to be a running mate , especially for Atiku Abubakar.

“The 17 governors later met again in Lagos and Enugu to confirm the decision made in your government building Asaba. We didn’t know you used this to perfect your secret plan to be Atiku Abubakar’s running mate from the very beginning.

“We are therefore not surprised that you instructed all Delta State delegates not to vote for Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State or Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who are your neighbors, but instead they voted en masse for Atiku Abubakar during the PDP Presidential. primaries last year.

“It was recalled in 2007 that Delta state finances were used to fund part of the election of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua through President Olusegun Obasanjo’s directive. We were therefore not surprised when you also decided to finance Atiku Abubakar with the money from Delta People because; there is no one to challenge you. I repeat that you will not succeed.

“It is therefore in your best interest to openly apologize to your colleagues at both APC and PDP whom you have misled into making a decision you never believed in.

“Following your unconditional apologies to your people and Southern Nigeria, you must resign your ambition to become the PDP vice presidential candidate. That’s where your honor lies.

“We can now understand why you never take your presidency of the South-South Governors Forum seriously as it jeopardizes your ambition.

“You have not joined your colleagues for a day in condemning the atrocities committed against our people, especially those committed by the armed AK 47 herdsmen who invaded Uvwheru, Igbuzor, Okpanam, Abraka and most recently Patani. This is because it will annoy your northern friends.

“However, the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has decided to oppose your joint candidacy with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and we will continue to do so until Election Day.”

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