Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, on Wednesday, said he was not supporting any of the presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Answering questions from newsmen in Asaba at the quarterly media interaction, Okowa said he would not force any PDP delegate from the state to vote against their wish.

He said when former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, who is also aspiring to the exalted office came for consultation, he was also well received by the people of the state, noting that he carefully chose his words each time to maintain his neutrality in the process.

Okowa said not even former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who was given an elaborate and overwhelming reception, on Tuesday, when he came on a consultation visit to the state PDP has his support yet.

He said, “I have not said I am supporting Atiku. I made my statement which was clear and cautious. If you followed us properly, you will discover that when he talked to Deltans, he made a lot of statement which did interest our people, and he has said he is a friend of the state.

“He talked about restructuring and the rest. And if his programme continues to interest the people, I will not be able to hold back the hands of the people. I am not going to force any delegate to the national convention to vote the way Okowa thinks or feels.

“They will be allowed to exercise their discretion and their votes. I am not the type of person that will insist that this is the way it must go. When Sule Lamido came, people know that he spoke so well, Lamido is also a man I respect so well, and he was well received.

“As governor, I don’t want to directly support any candidate, but the will of the people will be allowed to be, but if anything happens that I have to give guidance, I will never force the people to vote against their will,” he said.

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/06/2019-im-not-supporting-atiku-lamido-gov.html