Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State and Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has responded to All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu’s comment in the state.
Recall that Tinubu slammed PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for his frequent visits to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during his presidential rally in Delta on Saturday.
Tinubu claims that the Wazirin Adamawa prefers Dubai to Nigeria. The APC presidential candidate also accused Governor Okowa of using state funds to fund Atiku’s extravagant lifestyle.
The former Lagos State Governor also warned that Delta was not an ATM for migratory politicians from the state. Tinubu’s remark was included in a statement issued by his media officer, Tunde Rahman, according to Naija News.
The APC candidate accused the opposition party of abandoning infrastructure development in the state and leaving Delta to rot in his address at the Warri Township Stadium.
He said;
Delta is among Nigeria’s largest oil and gas producing states. Revenue from oil and gas has historically been the backbone of government revenue and foreign exchange earnings.
As such, your state and other oil producers have made a one-of-a-kind financial contribution to the building of modern Nigeria. The nation is thankful to you.
Delta has all it takes to be great and help lead the nation forward. Yet, for the past 23 years, those governing your state have taken you for a hard and long ride by selling you short. They have not done the things they should have and could have done for you.
The infrastructure in the state was better 30 years ago than it is now. The state has recorded historic debts run up by the incumbent, yet the infrastructure and other things still remain lacking because of under-investment and neglect.
The money is much, but it does not have legs. Where did it go? Not to your welfare. Perhaps, it has found a home with a certain presidential candidate who loves Dubai more than Nigeria.
But Delta State is not an ATM for migratory politicians. It is a place where good and hardworking people reside and work to create decent and peaceful lives for themselves and their families.
Your Identity Still Unknown – Okowa Fires Back At Tinubu
Okowa responded quickly to Tinubu’s allegations and demeaning remarks about his person and relationship with Atiku, saying he does not have time to respond to someone whose identity is still unknown to Nigerians.
The PDP Vice Presidential candidate, speaking through a spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and Delta State Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said Deltans appreciated the state’s infrastructure development and that the state was “not like Lagos that Bola Tinubu put in his pocket.”
Aniagwu, while interacting with The PUNCH in an interview, said;
We don’t have time to respond to somebody whose identity is still unknown. Let him first of all go and clear himself; when and where he was born, the schools he attended and other records about him so we can know who we are talking to.
Somebody whose records are still in doubt cannot be the one talking. Our state cannot be in his pocket the way he did Lagos. Delta is not Lagos, and our people cannot be deceived by such a person.