Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has said it will not be easy for any Igbo to win the 2023 presidency without zoning the presidential seat to the South Eastern zone of the country.
The federal lawmaker made this revelation while addressing newsmen at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, the nation’s capital on Tuesday.
He declared that the Nigerian presidency is not a regional matter and anyone who would win would do so with the support of other geo-political zones.
He, therefore, implored his fellow political actors from the South Eastern zone of the country aspiring for the highest office to calm down and wait for another moment when major political parties would make agreement on zoning the ticket to the region.
“Presidency is not a regional issue. I asked the political parties to zone the presidency to the South East. When they didn’t do that, and since the presidency is not a regional issue, I had to withdraw.
“I have no problem with the Igbo man being president. But we have to do it with other Nigerians. If we don’t do it with other Nigerians, it is not going to work, no matter how popular you are. It’s the president of Nigeria, not the president of Igboland.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigerian to the core. If anyone from the Southeast had been nominated for the presidency, I would have been the one. So, it’s a party business. I have no grudges against anybody who is running”, he said.