The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, on Wednesday said Nigerians are not ready for a president from the Igbo extraction ahead of the forthcoming election.
Speaking on the 2023 general elections in a Channels Television programme, ‘The Verdict’ on Wednesday, the former governor of Abia State said the Saturday’s presidential election is not the best outing for his people in the South-East region despite having one of the popular candidates, Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The APC Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District emphasised the need for the region to amass 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, Kalu 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,” he added.
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.
However, the comprising 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.
Recently, The PUNCH reported that Ortom hinted his interest to work with the candidate (Obi) endorsed by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The G5 came together and they are working together and I don’t even believe the governor of Benue State, possibly, he just wants to use that (endorsement) to win an election because the G5, from inside sources, have made up their minds that they are not going to work for any other person than Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC,” the lawmaker maintained.
He further expressed confidence that Tinubu will win with a landslide victory in Abia State and the Igbo-dominated zone.
