Former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has defended his decision to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he was convinced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was taking the country in the right direction.

Okowa, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice-presidential candidate alongside Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election, said his decision to join the APC was driven by his belief that the Tinubu administration was taking difficult but necessary steps to rebuild the Nigerian economy.

He spoke on Saturday at the APC presidential campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“You all know in 2023 I was on another ticket, but I have seen the light and I have seen that what Mr. President (Tinubu) is doing in Nigeria is the right thing to be done,” he said.

Okowa, who is now the APC senatorial candidate for Delta North, said he and the Delta State governor had defected to the ruling party to support Tinubu’s efforts to rebuild the country.

“I, along with my governor, crossed over to APC long ago to join hands with Mr. President because he is truly building a new Nigeria,” he added.

The former governor praised Tinubu for laying what he described as a solid foundation for Nigeria’s economic growth, arguing that previous administrations had weakened the country’s economic structure through policies such as the petroleum subsidy regime.

“When the foundation is broken, you cannot do anything,” Okowa said.

He maintained that the country was now on the right path because Tinubu had recognised the need to address the structural weaknesses inherited from successive administrations.

“Mr. President realises that the foundations of Nigeria have been broken by successive administrations. And today, we are on the right course because that foundation is being put right.”