Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has said he would no longer vie for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that he would focus his attention on returning to the Senate.
He made the announcement on Tuesday in a post on his verified Instagram page, where he gave reasons for his decision.
The senator had earlier indicated interest to run for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with a provision that the ruling party zones it to the South East.
Kalu acknowledged that the situation in Nigeria is that without the support of other regions, it would amount to a shadow chasing for a South Easterner to be President.
He expressed;
This is the reason I have been in the frontline of the call that the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should zone their presidential tickets to the South East as they did for the South West in 1999.
In the absence of this zoning, I shall return to the Senate and stay away from the presidential contest. The reality is that the North is more advantageous to win elections in this democratic setting.
Kalu stated;
It is my desire and intention to run for the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I am committed to this pursuit, but I can’t make an official declaration in this regard without the full support of other regions. Everywhere in the world, politics is situational and that of Nigeria is exceptionally situational. The situation in Nigeria is that without the support of other regions, it would amount to a shadow chasing for a South Easterner to be President.
In the absence of this zoning, he said he will return to the Senate and stay away from the presidential contest.
“The reality is that the North is more advantageous to win elections in this democratic setting,” Kalu said.
He expressed dismay with the array of aspirants coming from the South West and the South-South.
The Senator expressed;
It is embarrassing that these aspirants (APC and PDP) have no single respect and concern for the South East. I had thought they would think about the South-East; I thought they would support us. The amount of money being spent by these aspirants is alarming and they have forgotten that money alone cannot buy the presidency.
It has become a joke to an ordinary Nigerian who hears Southern commentators and aspirants rooting for a Southern President on the premise of fairness, equity and justice. How can you talk about these morals when you are not even fair to your own brothers?
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