Okowa Fires Back At Saraki Over Defection Criticism, Cites PDP Crisis

ABUJA – Former Governor of Delta State and 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has lashed out at former Senate President Bukola Saraki over comments criticising his recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying Saraki lacks the moral authority to speak on the matter.

Okowa’s response comes after Saraki described the wave of defections from the PDP in Delta State—led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Okowa, and other political stakeholders—as a low point in Nigeria’s political history. Saraki had described the defection, particularly that of Okowa, as “unprecedented” and “shocking,” pointing to a deeper leadership crisis within Nigeria’s political system.

“It’s simply a sign of how low we have sunk as a polity,” Saraki said in a statement on Monday.

But in a swift rebuttal during an interview on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Tuesday, Okowa stated that Saraki is in no position to criticise his move, given his own history of political defection.

“I did not expect that someone like Senator Bukola Saraki should be able to speak concerning me, because he knows that he had also moved to APC before and eventually returned. So he has had movement to and fro. So, I don’t think that he has the moral right to even speak about my defection at all,” Okowa said.

He stressed that the mass defection in Delta State was not an individual decision but a collective resolution by political stakeholders in response to internal crises plaguing the PDP.

According to the former governor, months of disunity, poor communication from party leadership, and the governors’ rejection of proposed coalitions all contributed to the perception that the PDP is no longer a viable platform, especially with the 2027 general elections approaching.

“Several things have been going on in the party. While I do not want to join issues with people, as stakeholders, our leaders in this state have sat down to look at the events in the last several months… it did not appear to us that that was a proper political vehicle for us to continue in,” Okowa stated.

He added that the leadership crisis in the PDP signals that the opposition party may not be prepared to effectively challenge the APC in future elections.

The defection of key Delta PDP figures to the APC has significantly weakened the opposition party’s structure in the oil-rich state and sparked nationwide debate about party loyalty, political ideology, and the broader state of Nigeria’s democracy.