Sun News
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has said that although as a loyal party man, he wishes his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) to win the 2023 presidential election, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, will win substantial votes from the South East.
Umahi, who was on a private visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, to get him to commission the N1.2 billion Ebonyi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja in mid October, told State House Correspondents that, Peter Obi’s Movement cannot be wished away, describing the movement as an eye opener, which proves that the South East would not be forgotten in Nigeria’s polity.
Asked what critical selling points the APC will use to campaign in the southeast, he said: “It’s going to be a different ballgame altogether. Because when campaign starts, yes, the interest of our people in terms of presidency is there, you can’t wish it away. But everyone in south east holding the ticket of their party is going to be struggling and he’s going to be fighting. You will not tell the guy that has the ticket of House of Assembly to look at the bigger picture of Igbo presidency. He may not see it but that is not to say that Peter Obi is not going to get substantial votes in South East.
Asked if the south east was ready for the presidency, Umahi said: “What happened during the primaries of PDP and APC, were a kind of miscalculation by our people but to say whether they’re ready for the presidency of the country anytime, I think that the movement of Peter Obi is an eye opener. That’s why I said, I love what he’s doing. I’m encouraged by what he’s doing. Because if he’s not doing what he’s doing, it means that South East would have been forgotten.
“So while my party takes the victory, he would have prepared a very good ground, for the South East Presidency, so that nobody is going to write us off. And you can see the level of his acceptability, which does not translate to victory of over APC. I’m sure of that, but it’s a good movement. And it reassures the southeast people and the entire country that, we are accepted, you know, that we will one day become the president of this country. It is very important.”
Asked if he shares the views with social critics that alleged that the killings in the south east have reduced due to the Peter Obi’s Movement, he said…
