ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The chief whip of the senate, Senator Orji Kalu, has said that Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State will vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the Presidential election.
Kalu stated this on Monday in a Channels Television interview, adding that the APC standard-bearer has the needed support to win the presidential election.
Wike and Ikpeazu are Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and they are both members of the G5 group. Other Governors in the G5 group are Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
The PDP G-5 Governors have since distanced themselves from the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP flagbearer, over the refusal of Iyorchia Ayu, the national chairman of the party to resign his position.
Governor Wike, leader of the G5 group, had announced that the group will adopt its preferred presidential candidate in January but the group is yet to publicly announce its preferred candidate.
Speaking on the APC’s chances, the senate chief whip said Tinubu is “well-liked” in the northern part of the country.
He added that the former Lagos Governor is a “good administrator”.
“Scientifically, we (APC members) are more in number. Demographically, we are also more. It is not a matter of polls. These polls do not work here because some of these polls are biased.
“Tinubu is a frontrunner. Tinubu is well-liked by the north and is from the south-west and is going to get meaningful votes in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra, and Enugu and he is going to have the support of governor Wike of Rivers state. So, we’re on track.
“My governor here – Okezie Ikepazu – will also support Tinubu. My senatorial district is going to give Tinubu the votes — 34, 35 percent — to be on the ballot.
“Tinubu will win because they know that Tinubu’s presidency will help us to have a stepping stone to a free market. People of the south-east will vote for Tinubu,” Senator Kalu said.