Senator Abba Moro, who represents Benue South, has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have emerged victorious in the 2023 presidential election if the party had chosen a different running mate for its candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Moro described the choice of former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as vice-presidential candidate as a grave political miscalculation.
“Given what we know now, with the hindsight that we have now, some of us think that the party would have won the election if other candidates, other than Okowa, had been picked as the vice presidential candidate from the South.
“I think there is an error of judgment on the part of everybody that was involved in the choice of Okowa as the candidate. How else would you characterise this scenario that a sitting governor, a former senator and a presidential candidate of a party couldn’t deliver his state even to the presidential candidate.”
Moro pointed to the PDP’s poor performance in Delta State — where Okowa failed to secure a win for the party — as evidence of his lack of commitment.
“And to think that two out of the senators from that state were from the opposition parties other than the PDP.
“So, I think that picking Okowa as the vice presidential candidate in 2023 was a very serious mistake.”
The criticism comes on the heels of Okowa’s recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. While being received by APC leaders in Asaba, Okowa said the move was in the “best interest” of Delta people and to help them “connect to Abuja.”
But Moro accused the former governor of never being fully committed to the PDP’s cause.
“As it is now you can safely conclude that we lost the election because of lack of commitment.
“Otherwise, how can you explain that shortly after losing his state, that ordinarily should have been a very easy pick for the PDP, instead of rendering an apology to the party and Nigeria, he’s now talking about regretting being on the ticket?
“His soul was not in the PDP. His soul was not in that election, and that is why we performed very miserably in Delta State.”
When asked whether Atiku’s possible exit from the PDP would be a major blow to the party, Moro admitted it would leave a significant gap.
“Well, Atiku definitely has his own place in history and in the formation of the PDP. He has his own place in the organisation of the PDP.
“He has his own place as a very strong member, as a two-time presidential candidate of the party. Yes, if he leaves, it will create a vacuum.”
