Orji Uzor-Kalu, the Senate’s Chief Whip, has stated that he has not abandoned his bid for the presidency in 2023, as some media reports have claimed.
He stated that if the All Progressive Congress zoned the presidential ticket to the South-East, he would run for it.
Kalu, who clarified a statement he made on Tuesday, insisted that equity needed that the South East be supported in order for the APC to win the presidential ticket.
He said, “My stand is very clear, I didn’t drop my presidential ambition and I will never drop it.
“I only urged our brothers from the South-South and South-West geo-political zones who came out en masse to contest for the office of the president to drop their ambition and support us because of equity.
“If we are talking about equity, the presidential ticket should be zoned to the South-East being the only zone that has not tested power since 1999.We can’t have people from South- South and South-West running when we are talking about equity.
“Former president Goodluck Jonathan, was vice, and later president for six years. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo was president for eight years and Prof Yemi Osibanjo is going to be vice president for eight years again.
“So if there is anything called equity and justice, it should be support for the South-East and unless that support is given to us, every other zone in the country should contest for presidency in 2023 including people from Buhari’s village.
“We are negotiating for them to support us, because I know there’s no single aspirant that the president, Buhari, has told to run for presidency. I know him and his antecedent, Buhari can never tell anybody that he would make him president.
“He will always tell people who go to him to consult with their people. I have not told him that I want to run for presidency because it has not been zoned to the South East”.
Kalu also urged politicians seeking various political positions in the country to choose the country’s peace and unity before their personal ambitions.
He stressed that without peaceful cohabitation among Nigerians, no significant progress could be done in the country.
