Frank Accuses Okowa of Begging For VP Slot, Labels Him ‘Serial Liar’ After APC Defection

Former APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, has launched a scathing attack on former Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, accusing him of desperately lobbying for the PDP’s Vice Presidential candidacy in the 2023 election and calling him a “serial liar and betrayer” following his recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Frank’s outburst follows reports that Okowa expressed “regret” for accepting the position of running mate to PDP presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

While acknowledging the possibility of misquotation, Frank claimed that Okowa’s silence on the issue for more than 24 hours implies ownership of the contentious statement.

“We know how Okowa begged, fought, and lobbied to get the position,” Frank said, dismissing Okowa’s apparent regret as “cowardice in full bloom.”

He suggested that Okowa’s sole motivation for joining the APC was to avoid prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged corruption.

Frank described Okowa as having a “gross integrity deficit” and being driven primarily by “parochial survival instincts.”

He emphasised Okowa’s history of alleged betrayal, citing his relationship with former Governor James Ibori.

“This is not Okowa’s first attempt at high-level betrayal. “The story of how he stabbed ex-Governor James Ibori, his former godfather, in the back for power, is still fresh in our minds,” Frank stated.

Frank claimed that he was one of those who supported Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as Atiku’s running mate, arguing that Wike possessed more political capital than Okowa.

However, he claimed that certain PDP leaders and elders, swayed by Okowa’s lobbying, pressed Atiku to choose him.

He also claimed that Okowa’s selection contributed to the PDP’s loss in the 2023 presidential election, citing the party’s defeat in Delta State during the same election, despite Okowa being the sitting governor and vice-presidential candidate.

“Even as a sitting governor and vice-presidential candidate, his party, the PDP, lost Delta state in the last presidential election, and because of his emptiness and lack of electoral value, his current voyage would not benefit the APC,” Frank stated.

Frank, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, criticised the APC for accepting individuals such as Okowa, claiming it reflects the party’s desperation to retain power in 2027.

“With Okowa joining the APC, it shows the party is now a dumping ground for looters,” he said.

Frank concluded by claiming that Atiku was unaware of Okowa’s alleged “unreliability” when he chose him as his running mate, causing strain in Atiku’s relationship with James Ibori. He hoped that Okowa’s departure would not be missed by the PDP.