Former Governor of Abia State Orji Uzor Kalu, on Tuesday pointedly told his kinsmen in the South-East of Nigeria it is not their turn to produce one of their own as President of Nigeria.
Kalu, while speaking with journalists at the National Assembly said every region requires the support of other regions to make one of their own the President.
“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 the presidency is not a regional issue, I had to withdraw.
“I have no problem with the 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 the president of Nigeria, not the president of Igboland.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigerian to the core. If anyone from the Southeast had been nominated for the presidency, I would have been the one. So, it’s a party business. I have no grudges against anybody who is running”, he said.
Kalu reminded his kinsmen that it is difficult for any Igbo man to win the presidency without a zoning arrangement
Shifting Grounds
Kalu, in the build-up to the presidential primaries of the All Progressive Congress which was eventually won by the former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, had said that the only region which also had right to produce the next President apart from the South-East, is the North-East of the country.
He based his assertion on the premise that all of the South-West, South-South-South, North-West and North-Central of the country had at one time or the other produced Nigeria’s head of state either via the military or the civilian regime.
Kalu had been quoted in the media in May this year:
“I expected that the president, after President Buhari, will emerge from the South East.
“That was why I was constantly urging all the political parties to be fair to every region of this country.
“The fairness which I talked about was about the South East and the North East, the two zones that are yet to produce the President of Nigeria.
“Unless the two parties zone their tickets to the South East, there is no fairness. I believe the zoning was the best means a South Easterner could become president,’’ Kalu said.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo became President in 1999 because the South East and the South South supported the South West.
“Former President Goodluck Jonathan became president in 2011 because the South East and the South West supported the South South.
“So, what stops South West and South South aspirants from withdrawing from the race to support only the South East aspirants?
“In my previous statements, I applauded a couple of South West and South-South elders who extended their support to our region and also called on other regions to consider the South East for President.
“However, we cannot continue to rely on oral support and mere statements when what is needed most is practical action.”
Kalu’s Mother Receives Tinubu
Three days ago, Kalu led the presidential candidate of the APC, Tinubu to the residence of his mother, Madam Unice Uzor Kalu.
In a video that has gone viral, Tinubu was seen bowing to Kalu’s mother and exchanging pleasantries.
His visit to Kalu’s mother is seen as one of the moves to penetrate critical elements within the Abia State political enclave.