The former governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has not chance to win the 2023 election.
According to Kalu, Obi does not have the kind of structure that can give him victory in the election.
He, therefore, urged people not to waste their votes on Obi. Incidentally, Kalu and Obi are of Igbo extraction but Kalu stressed that the election is not regional but national.
Addressing journalists at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Kalu, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said he had to withdraw from the race “since presidency is not a regional issue”.
Kalu said since he belongs to the APC, he is bound to vote for the presidential candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu is Yoruba and from the South-West region.
He maintained that “it’s a party business,” adding that he has “no grudges against anybody who is running.” He insisted that he will support his party’s presidential candidate.
He pleaded with Igbo people to await their turn, saying “for now, our presidential candidate is Bola Ahmed Tinubu”
Tinubu is a strategic leader, he will make his presidency beneficial to the Igbo,” he said, adding that “Igbo will be the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s presidency”.
“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,” he said.
“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,” he said.