Ndigbo has been advised not to make the forthcoming presidential election a regional issue.
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who stated this while fielding questions from journalists in Abia on Tuesday, told Igbo people that they would benefit more if the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerges winner, come 2023 election.
Cautioning the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, Kalu said the race for Presidency in 2023 should not be reduced to regional contest, appealing to Ndigbo not to make Presidency a regional issue, but wait for their turn and work with other zones in the country to achieve their ambition.
His words: “Presidency is not a regional issue. I asked the political parties to zone the presidency to the South East. When they didn’t do that, and since presidency is not a regional issue, I had to withdraw.
“I have no problem with Igbo man being president. But we have to do it with other Nigerians. If we don’t do it with other Nigerians, it is not going to work, no matter how popular you are. It’s president of Nigeria, not president of Igbo land.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigeria to the core. If anyone from the southeast would have been nominated for presidency, I would have been the one. So, it’s a party business. I have no grudges against anybody who is running.
“So, it is not personal. It is political and party. This thing is about party winning election. I have chosen to be in APC. Why will I vote against Tinubu? It’s madness, and I’m not going to do it. Elections go along party line, not along tribal line.
“For me, we will wait for another time and see how all Nigerians will agree to zone the presidency to Igbo land. But for now, our presidential candidate is Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Tinubu is a strategic, he will make his presidency beneficial to the Igbo. The Igbo will be the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s presidency.”
