The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), chaired by Elder statesman, Edwin Clark, has endorsed Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party for the 2023 presidential election.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports The SMBLF is made up of leaders from the middle-belt area, as well as groups including the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).
Clark said the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who is the vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), betrayed the people of Southern Nigeria.
Clark, who is a former Federal Commissioner for information, stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
The elder statesman urged Governor Okowa to step down as the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.
He stressed that Okowa running as the PDP vice presidential candidate was contrary to the resolution of the South-South Forum that the presidency must shift from the North to the South in 2023.
“Okowa has betrayed his colleagues in the Southern Governors Forum and the South generally.
“This man has betrayed us for accepting to be the running mate of Atiku. Without me, it would have been difficult for him to become governor of Delta.
“What shocked me was that our governor without discussing with any one of us was working with a presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar without our knowing.
“This man has betrayed us. We all agreed, and we held a series of meetings that this man has betrayed us. We can no longer trust him,” Clark said.
