5 years in office: God fought my re-election battles for me — Okowa

TRACKING___GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State said yesterday that God fought for him in the 2019 elections, saying that there were all manners of speculation and all things were said against him.

Speaking during an interdenominational Thanksgiving service to mark the first anniversary of his second term in office at the Government House Chapel, Asaba, Okowa recalled a media publication where he was mocked for his daily fellowship with God.

He said that rather than dampen his spirit, the publication strengthened him in his belief and trust in God, adding that “at that point, I knew that the battle of my re-election was over because I saw the publication as a challenge to God, not mine, and of course, the rest is history because I won the election more convincingly than in 2015”.

The Governor said that the Thanksgiving was, therefore, necessary because God made it possible for him and his deputy to emerge victorious in the election, expressing optimism that God would take away the challenge occasioned by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic and revive the state and the nation’s economies. zxOkowa said COVID-19 had posed a major challenge to economies of the world and called on Christians to pray fervently to God for a solution to the scourge.

He disclosed that the global lockdown occasioned by the pandemic had led to slump in the price of crude oil price, which had remained Nigeria’s major source of revenue.

Okowa, however, said that with God, there would be victory over the pandemic, and called on the people to put their trust in God for a solution to the challenge and other turbulent situations. He said: “We thank God for making it possible for us to gather here today; if not for the season that we found ourselves, I am sure that by now we would have been at the Event Centre with many gospel artistes coming to perform for us while we dance to glorify the name of God.