Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Delta, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed gratitude to the leadership of the party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for selecting him as presidential running mate.
According to him, the ticket was a demonstration of the confidence the party and Atiku Abubakar had in his capabilities, adding that it was an ennobling responsibility.
Okowa who was speaking on Friday while addressing a mammoth crowd of PDP supporters at the party’s campaign in Ika South and Ika North East Local Government Areas of the state thanked the people for their support over the years.
He urged them and all Deltans to join in commending the party for the choice by voting massively for all its candidates in the forthcoming general elections as they had always done.
At the carnival-like rally, the governor reiterated his call on Deltans to deliver no fewer than one million votes to the party in the elections.
“Since the old Bendel State till now, nobody from Delta has emerged Vice-President. So, we are thankful and asking for your support because I know that you will back me and my party to achieve the task of recovering Nigeria.
“By the special grace of God, you have always supported me throughout my political career and I have seen Ika people come out in great numbers in the past, but I have never seen this kind of crowd in our campaigns here.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank the leadership of PDP and our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for finding me worthy to be the Vice-Presidential candidate of our great party.
“I have challenged our people in Delta that as a state we must cross the one million votes mark and as people of Ika nation, I challenge us to deliver a minimum of 180,000 votes for the party.
“I urge you all to justify my selection by ensuring that all our votes in Ika nation will go to PDP and God will bless you as you continue to work hard for us to deliver in all the elections,” he stated.
On the governorship election in the state, Okowa said that the choice of Sheriff Oborevwori as a candidate was divine, and urged the Ika people and Deltans to support him.
On his part, the candidate, Oborevwori, commended the people of Ika for their massive support and assured them that his administration’s MORE Agenda would develop all parts of the state equitably.
Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Kingsley Esiso, said that the Ika people were fortunate to have produced a governor and now the vice-presidential candidate of the party and urged them to vote 100 per cent for the PDP to justify the party’s choice of Okowa as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.
Director-General of the State’s Campaign Council, Chief Funkekeme Solomon, said that PDP built the country from 1999 to 2015, but regretted that APC had destroyed the country since it took over in 2015.
He, however, assured the people that PDP would restore the glory of the country and reset it for greater height and appealed to them to vote for the party.
At Boji-Boji Owa, eight House of Assembly candidates of other political parties in the state, led by Mr Andrew Akawe of Accord Party, renounced their candidatures in favour of the candidacy of Mrs Marilyn Okowa-Daramola of the PDP.
The rally was attended by the wife of the governor, Dame Edith Okowa; the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Kingsley Otuaro; Deputy Governorship Candidate, Chief Monday Onyeme among others.