Okowa did not fund my presidential campaign, Atiku tells EFCC

BY TUNDE OPALANA

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has denied speculations that the former governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for embezzling the state fund while in office to allegedly fund Atiku’s presidential campaign.

There have been insinuations that Okowa who ran as running mate to Atiku emptied Delta State treasury to partly fund the joint presidential ticket of the PDP in 2023.

The Daily Times recalled that Dr. Okowa was last Monday arrested over alleged mismanagement of an estimated N1.3 trillion state fund derived from 13 per cent derivation allocation between 2015 and 2023.

But the former Vice President on Saturday reacted to such insinuation denying Okowa’s funding of the pre- 2023 presidential election campaign.

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Special adviser on Broadcast Media, Abdul Rasheeth, made the clarification in a statement .

“Atiku has always independently funded his campaigns and does not rely on his running mates for financial support,” Rasheeth said.

“His update on social media platform, X, reads:

“In 2007, Atiku Abubakar chose Ben Obi as his running mate, not for political position but for his merit. Again, in 2019, Atiku selected Peter Obi, despite him not being a sitting governor, driven by Obi’s qualifications rather than his title. In 2023, Atiku’s choice fell on Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa. Contrary to malicious claims, Okowa was not responsible for funding Atiku’s extensive campaign in any way.

“Atiku has always independently funded his campaigns and does not rely on his running mates for financial support. Any attempt to besmirch Atiku’s reputation through these falsehoods is a baseless insult, driven by those with ulterior motives against Okowa.”