ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Chief Whip of the Senate and former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor-Kalu says the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu’s presidency will be more beneficial to the Igbo people.
Uzor-Kalu spoke to journalists on Tuesday before the commencement of the plenary.
He described Tinubu as a strategic leader and then explained that his decision not to support a South-East candidate is not in any way personal.
The Senator said, “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 will not work, no matter how popular you are. It’s the president of Nigeria, not the president of Igbo land.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigerian to the core. If anyone from the South-East would have 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.”
The senator added, “So, it is not personal, it is political and party-based. This thing is about the party winning elections. 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 the tribal line.”
Kalu said he would wait for another time and see how all Nigerians would agree to zone the presidency to Igbo land. “But for now, our presidential candidate is Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he stressed.
He added, “Tinubu is strategic, he will make his presidency beneficial to the Igbos. The Igbos will be the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s presidency.”
Revisiting the decisions of the senators to impeach the president, Uzor-Kalu said nobody is talking about impeachment.
According to him, “Not on this floor. President Buhari has done well in some areas and failed in some areas. The impeachment threat is mere gossip, it is not possible.
“I know that senators were agitating about insecurity and you can see that the security situation is improving. Generally, there is a daily improvement in security. We want to see the tempo is being sustained. When the tempo is sustained, no senator will mention impeachment of the president on the floor of the Senate.”