The Chief Whip of the 9th Assembly, Senator Orji Uzor has disclosed that he never withdrew from the 2023 Presidential race but rather requested other regions to support the South East.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, the former Governor of Abia State revealed that he is the most detribalized Nigerian while stating that other aspirants are no more Nigerian than he is.
Senator Kalu who was reacting to reports that he has withdrawn from the presidential race cited the case of South-West and South-South in 1999 and 2011 respectively where power was given and how former President Goodluck Jonathan lost in 2015 because power was not given to the South-South.
“I am surprised that a statement as unambiguous and clearly comprehensible as mine was still misunderstood yesterday.
In the least clear term, I had requested that other regions should support the South East to be president, especially our own brothers from the South. I added that I will run for president if the party zones the ticket to the South East.
Some people continue to throw this lamba that “power is not given but taken.” In reality, for a Southerner to become president of Nigeria, power is given and not taken. Power was given to the South West in 1999. Power was given to the South South in 2011. In 2015, the North did not give power to the South and that was why a sitting president lost. Unless for mischievous and selfish reasons against the South East, no one can comfortably deny these facts.
As long as the Presidency of Nigerian is concerned, any pointer to equity and fairness is South East and North East, otherwise, and as I strongly advocated, Buhari’s kinsmen, including his wife is free to run for the office of the president in 2023. It is very ungodly and immoral for any Southerner to talk about fairness and equity, but sees no fairness in working hard to cease the third meat that belongs to their remaining brother.
None of the other aspirants is more Nigerian than me. Aside the capacity and what it takes to govern a country as diverse as Nigeria, I remain the most detribalized living Nigeria today and these are verifiable facts.
It is a false claim and an old propaganda that the South East is not united in this contest. In this pursuit for presidency, there is nothing the South East is doing that is different from what others are doing. Let the two major political parties zone their tickets to the South East and see the miracle that will happen to Nigeria.
And for clarification purpose, I am still in the presidential race. My statement yesterday did not state that I withdrew from the race.
Here is part of the statement issued on Tuesday : “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 to this regard without the full support of other regions.
…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.””
His earlier statement reads;
2023 Presidency : The Fairness I Know
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 to 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 chase for a South Easterner to be President. 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.
I am even shocked with the number of aspirants coming from the South West and the South South . 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?
If there is anything like “fairness”, “equity” and “justice”, it should be the entire South pushing for a president of South East extraction. Anything less than that is “hypocritical”, “unjustifiable”and “inordinate”. Some ‘persons’ are even claiming God’s anointed choice in 2023 . Unfortunately, it is not all prayers that God answers; at least not inordinate ones.
What moral justification does a Southerner who refused to be fair to his brothers have against a Northerner running for president? It will be very insensitive , unreasonable and disrespectful for any Southern man to criticize a presidential aspirant from the North on the ground that the North has done eight years and power should return to the South.
The South West and the South South have successfully completed their tenures as ‘President and Vice President’.They should have the courage to support their brothers from the South East. If the next president after President Muhammadu Buhari does not come from the South East , there would be nothing unfair and unjust if he/she comes from Daura.
This country belongs to all of us and the unity of the country should be paramount . If not for selfishness and greed, how can you say that where a president comes from does not matter simply because you don’t want to support a president of Nigeria from the South East, but turn around to clamor for a power shift to the South? How do we explain this to the younger generation? Let the wise and courageous stay firm on their convictions and not swing on the two sides of the Atlantic .
If you are convinced that where a president comes from does not matter, let Nigerians not hear you clamour for power shift. Be brave to encourage everyone to run , including President Buhari’s kinsmen. But if you have conscience and believe in equality, then you should support the South East region that is yet to produce a president. That is what I consider as fairness .
The two regions that are yet to produce a President are South East and North East. If this means anything to Nigerians, the APC and PDP should be fair enough to prioritize these regions. If power should come to the South and not the South East or North and not the North East, the essence for which the six geopolitical zones were created is long dead .
To Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Edwin Clark , Deji Adeyanju and a host of others who have stood firm in their support for their brothers in the South East, posterity will be kind to you .
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu MON
Chief Whip of the 9th Senate
Federal Republic of Nigeria
