Born on July 8, 1959 and from very humble beginning in life, his parents named him Ifeanyi, translated into English to mean, “nothing is impossible”. His other names Arthur Okowa.
But it is the potency and the prophesy his first name carries that manifested the most on Thursday when he was announced by a grand jury of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as the running mate to presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Okowa won his party’s vice presidential ticket ahead of tough fellow contenders who are mostly serving PDP Governors.
They include Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike who finished second to Atiku at the presidential primaries in May; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel Udom who finished in fourth place.
Others were Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Okowa’s choice ahead of Wike especially has come with clearly a measure of surprise considering the political clout of both men within the PDP and especially in their South-South region.
But the choice of Okowa may have been more strategic and descerning from the PDP.
Apart from Okowa’s quiet, cool, calm and collected disposition to power, he looks the more appealing of all the candidates PDP can use to sway votes in both the South-East and the South-South.
But Okowa did not just arrive at the point where he now has the vice presidential ticket of Nigeria’s main opposition party in his pouch.
His made a steady climb to the top from being the Secretary to his native Ika Local Government Council and serving as Chairman of Ika North-East Local Government from 1991 to 1993. Okowa’s rise to power has been gradual with painstaking steps up the ladder and there were moments he faltered. His first shot at the Governorship of Delta State was in 2007 having served in various capacities as commissioner. He failed at the attempt, but that same year, he was appointed Secretary to the Delta State Government under Governor James Ibori who he assisted greatly to become Governor in 1999.
Okowa never relented and in 2011 he was elected Senator for Delta North, a position he kept until 2015 when he finally had his hands on the coveted office of Delta State Governor.
Okowa is a trained medical doctor. He attended Edo College, Benin, the University of Ibadan and had many awards in his name that has brought great fortunes and the latest being inches away from Nigeria’s Vice Presidency.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
