ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Few days to the presidential election, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, says Nigerians are not ready for a President from the Igbo extraction.
Speaking on the 2023 general elections in a Channels Television programme, ‘The Verdict’ on Wednesday, Kalu said Saturday’s presidential election would not be the best outing for the Igbo people despite having one of the popular candidates, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as their son.
The APC Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District stressed that the need for the region to gather bulk votes from five other regions out of the remaining six to be victorious.
Although, there are a number of contestants of Igbo extractions among the 18 presidential candidates for this year’s election.
Dismissing the chances of Obi emerging victorious in the polls, he said: “I’m well-experienced; I ran for President in 2007 and I’m not sure Nigerians are not yet ready for a President of Igbo extraction.
“I’m not sure because I have tried to nose around that. We have five other regions to come up with and I am not sure.
“The people of the South-East are the best professionals but not the best politicians.
“We do politics with emotions and I want Igbos to stop doing politics with emotions; I want Igbos to do practical politics.”
Speaking on the candidate adopted by the People Democratic Party aggrieved Governors popularly known as G5, Kalu said they are silently working for the victory of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, Punch reports.
However, the G5; Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) have not openly declared their support for any presidential candidate despite welcoming the candidates who come into their state for campaigns.