Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have hailed the emergence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as the running mate of the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Naija News had earlier reported that Atiku announced Okowa as his running mate at the National Secretariat of the opposition party in Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Atiku revealed that he chose Okowa because he has the qualities to be the President and has an appreciation of the deep rot in which the country has been put into.

Atiku selected Okowa despite the National Advisory Committee and National Working Committee (NWC) recommending Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for the position.

Reacting to the development, the PDP Governors Forum congratulated their colleague, Okowa over his selection as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

The forum stated that Okowa has distinguished himself as a governor and has what it takes to be an effective Vice President of the country.

Governor of Sokoto and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, made this known in a statement released on Thursday night.

The PDP Governors stated that the Atiku/Okowa ticket will rescue and rebuild the country, adding that the PDP will defeat the APC in the 2023 Presidential election.

The forum also commended Atiku for fulfilling his promise of choosing a serving PDP Governor as his running mate.

“The PDP-GF notes in particular that the PDP Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON, promised to select a serving PDP Governor as his running mate, ostensibly not just because of the contributions of the Governors to the effective running of the Party and its stability, but because of their experience and executive capacity. He kept his word.

“Governor Okowa has distinguished himself as Governor of Delta State. He also has cognate legislative experience as a former Senator. He has what it takes to be an effective Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The great task of recovering, rescuing and rebuilding Nigeria begins with the Atiku/Okowa ticket. The APC has completely messed up Nigeria. It has failed in all aspects of governance; insecurity, bad economy, dysfunctional education, health and social services are the hallmarks of the APC administration,” the statement reads.