Uzor Kalu Urges Igbo To Wait For Another Time To Produce President
Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, says for an Igbo person to become the president of the country, the Igbo will have to wait for a time when Nigerians would agree to zone the presidency to the southeast.
He said it is difficult for any Igbo to win the presidency without the seat being zoned to the Southeast.
Kalu said this while briefing reporters at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Tuesday, February 20, 2022.
The lawmaker said presidency is not a regional issue, adding that the position could only be won with the support of other geo-political zones in the country.
Kalu, therefore, called on Igbo politicians seeking to lead the country to wait for another time, when major political parties would agree to zone their presidential tickets to the southeast.
He also advised the people of the southeast to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections, saying the region would be the biggest beneficiaries of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s presidency.
Kalu 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 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 Igboland.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigerian 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 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 tribal line.
“For me, we will wait for another time and see how all Nigerians will agree to zone the presidency to the Igboland. But for now, our presidential candidate is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tinubu is a strategic leader, he will make his presidency beneficial to the Igbo. The Igbo will be the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s presidency.”
Before Tinubu emerged as the presidential candidate of the APC, Kalu had said he would contest for presidency in 2023 only if the party zones its ticket to his region.