Says; “We’re ready to receive President Buhari in Abia.”
By Ogochukwu Isioma
IGBERE (Abia) — A former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has reacted to the recent endorsement of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, by Ohaneze Ndigbo, Igbere TV reports.
Mr Abubakar, a former Vice President, has as his running mate, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State.
Igbere TV reported on Friday that the President General of Ohaneze, John Nwobodo, announced the endorsement in a statement on Thursday in Enugu.
Speaking with newsmen at his Igbere country home, Camp Niya, the former governor said, “I was very surprised that Chief Nwobodo, whom I have a lot of respect for, could do such because that is not the right thing to do. You know this man is a very close friend of mine, I use to sleep in his house whenever I am in Enugu. Ohaneze is a cultural organization, they’ve nothing to do with politics. What they just did now implies that we have two Ohanezes, or we are going to have another organization in a different name.
“I will be in consultation with Governor Obiano and other people of goodwill to decide what we will do next, we are not going to accept it. These are card carrying members of PDP, they cannot use Ohaneze to endorse a candidate, it’s not acceptable to us. We want a free playing ground. I expected Ohaneze to be neutral, whoever wins, they support. I’m not even expecting them to endorse Buhari, we want them to be neutral because neutrality is the game plan in every independent cultural association.”
Asked if Ohaneze’s stance would influence the voting pattern in the zone or divide the electorates from the South East, the Abia North APC Senatorial Candidate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu said: “No, no, no (sic). Our people knows, we’ve talked to them — the churches, the clergy, every Abians. How many people are in Ohaneze?, How many people listen to Ohaneze?. John Nwobodo Jnr., having served as a Political Adviser to Shagari and as a former Minister to General Abdulsalam, is a very intelligent man. I don’t need to put him down. Possibly, it’s a committee decision that they’ve taken, I know he’s a very smart man but why he made that mistake is what I don’t know. He owe me some explanation the day I’ll see him, he’s like my brother.”
Speaking further, Dr. Kalu insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari does not hate people of the South East.
He said contrary to insinuations, Buhari is a friend of the South East and has been doing what former Presidents failed to do in the region for 16 years.
Kalu cited the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and the construction of the second Niger Bridge as some of Buhari’s major projects in the South-East.
He recalled as the governor then, he had to dismantle all the toll gates in the state to protest Federal Government neglect of the roads in the state, but expressed joy that Buhari had been able to address the problem.
The former governor, however, decried the poor state of the Abia economy, citing the irregular payment of workers’ salaries and infrastructural deficit.
He said that most of the ongoing road projects in the state were being done by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
He also noted that people of the region will massively vote for Buhari in February 16, and expressed optimism that APC would record landslide victory in Abia during the 2019 general elections.
According to Kalu, “President Buhari is doing a lot of work which PDP didn’t do in their 16 years of ruling this country. The second Niger Bridge is being constructed by him, this shows that he is competent to rule this country.
“Our South East governors promised to build the second Niger Bridge but they didn’t do it. Obasanjo promised and failed. Goodluck Jonathan promised to do it but he did not care to build the bridge for Ndigbo.
“I don’t know why people will say that Buhari hates the Igbos because I know Buhari very well. He is a friend to Ndigbo. Am I not a friend to President Buhari? I am very close to Buhari and I know that come February 16, Abia State will give President Buhari 80 per cent of their votes.
“The party has the antidote against rigging and what it takes to win the polls at all levels in 2019.
“We will never allow anybody to rig us out of elections in Abia again. We shall match them force by force and money for money,” he said.
He maintained that Nigeria, as a country, needs stability in governance, for sustainable development and “that is why president Buhari must be allowed to finish his second term.
“This is 90 minutes game and Buhari is about to finish the first 45 minutes, so, we appeal to Nigerians to give him the support, to finish the second half of this all important game of politics,” Dr. Kalu said.
(IGBERE TV)
