Former Delta State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Delta North, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged voters across the South-South region to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, declaring that the President deserves another four years to consolidate his economic reforms and development programmes.

Okowa made the appeal on Saturday, November 7, 2026, during the APC South-South presidential campaign flag-off at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The former governor, who served as the running mate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the 2023 presidential election, said he had changed political allegiance after assessing the policies and decisions of the Tinubu administration.

He urged voters to turn out in large numbers in 2027 to support Tinubu and other APC candidates, insisting that the South-South region should not be left out of the President’s re-election campaign.

Explaining his decision to defect from the PDP to the APC alongside Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Okowa said he had become convinced that Tinubu’s policies were aimed at rebuilding the country’s economic foundation.

“You all know that in 2023 I was on another ticket, but I have seen the light and I have seen what Mr President is doing for Nigeria,” he said.

“It is the right thing to be done, and I have, along with my governor, long ago crossed to the APC to join hands with Mr President, because he is truly building a new Nigeria,” he added.

Okowa argued that successive administrations had weakened the country’s economic foundation and said Tinubu had taken steps to address the challenges through difficult but necessary decisions.

“When the foundation is broken, you cannot do anything. Mr President realises that successive administrations have broken the foundations of Nigeria. And today, we are on the right course because that foundation is being put right,” he said.

The former governor also defended the Federal Government’s fiscal reforms, particularly the increase in revenue allocations to state and local governments.

According to him, the additional resources available to subnational governments have improved their capacity to execute projects and meet financial obligations, including the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions.

“Today, our states and local governments are doing so well because Mr President has continued to mobilise resources for various states and our local governments,” Okowa said.

He further claimed that local governments and state administrations were now in a better position to undertake development projects and meet their obligations to workers and pensioners.

“Only a man who understands a nation’s economy can do this. The wonders that were done in Lagos are already being done in our country, Nigeria,” he added.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page after the rally, Okowa also highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing it as one of the initiatives expanding access to higher education.

He said the country needed difficult but necessary decisions, sound economic policies and sustained commitment to securing the future of coming generations.

“Building a stronger Nigeria requires difficult but necessary decisions, sound economic policies and a commitment to securing the future of generations to come. I believe we must sustain the reform process and work collectively towards a more stable, prosperous, and secure nation,” he stated.

Okowa maintained that the South-South had benefited from the Tinubu administration’s reforms and infrastructure drive, urging political leaders, APC members, supporters and undecided voters across the region to unite behind the President.

His endorsement marks a political shift from the 2023 general election, when he ran alongside Atiku against Tinubu, who contested under the APC.

Okowa and Oborevwori later left the PDP for the ruling APC, with the former governor now seeking election to represent Delta North Senatorial District under the party.

He said the region should actively participate in the campaign for Tinubu’s second term and support APC candidates in the 2027 general elections.

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