By Ochioha Two
The growing support for Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by Nigerians who tag themselves the ‘Obidient Movement’ shows that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) miscalculated in their choices ahead of the 2023 presidential election, says Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.
The Governor spoke on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja when he came to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to commission the new N1.2 billion Ebonyi State Lodge built by the State government in Abuja.
Emerging from his meeting with the President, Umahi, who sought vainly to get nomination for the APC presidential ticket, was asked by State House correspondents to react to insinuations that the Southeast is not ready for Nigeria’s presidency come 2023.
He responded: “What happened during the primaries of PDP and APC, were a kind of miscalculation by people but to say whether they (Igbos) are ready for the presidency of the country anytime, I think that the movement of Peter Obi is an eye opener.
“That’s why I say 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 Southeast would have been forgotten.
“So while my party takes the victory, he would have prepared a very good ground, for the Southeast 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 over APC; I’m sure of that, but it’s a good movement.
“And it reassures the Southeast people and entire country that, we are accepted, and that we will one day become the president of this country. It is very important.”
He also dismissed insinuations that insecurity has reduced in the Southeast only because Peter Obi’s quest for the presidency, as he explained that it is the whole country that is witnessing general improvement in security.
According to the Governor: “It has nothing to do with the movement of Peter Obi. Peter Obi movement is a movement that is anchored on equity, justice and fairness. It may not translate to outright win because I must defend my party, I must wish my party well and I’m having the ticket of my party.
“But whether what he is doing has meaning, not only Southeast, it does have meaning. So we must never attribute the killings in Southeast to this kind of movement.”
While stressing that he holds a senatorial ticket of the APC and must support his party to win elections in 2023, Umahi said however, that the candidacy of Peter Obi could not be simply dismissed or wished away.
His words: “Peter Obi’s movement and all other movements are authored on God’s will, it is only God who knows who will win, but there must be a wish.
“As a party man, I would wish that our party wins. And if God says no, the next person I wish that should win is Peter Obi.
“This is because I believe strongly and I will say it anywhere, in this North/South presidency, after the North has taken eight years, there is no moral justification for the North to be seeking to take another eight years, it should go to the South.
“So, I’m not wishing Peter Obi away. God has the final say and he has the power and gives to whomever He wishes.”
On what the selling points of the APC would be in the Southeast during the forthcoming campaigns, and the chances of Obi in the election, the Governor said: “Everybody has chances of winning and chances of losing but you must always have a wish.
“It’s going to be a different ball game 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 Southeast 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.” is there.
On the Ebonyi Governor’s Lodge he wants Buhari to commission next month, Umahi said it is the most beautiful among its peers, and that the President is happy with it.
He recalled that “when I came on board in 2015, I discovered that our Governors Lodge in Maitama, is not actually the kind of place I would like to bring people to discharge of my duties here in Abuja.
“As Governor of the State, I conceive a mindset to be number one, in anything I do, and that infrastructure was not going to be an exception. So in 2016, I went to look for land in Asokoro and I saw one – about 3000 square meters.
“Luckily, I got a very good price, at N350 million, and I paid/in 2016 but I didn’t start building until November 2020. And by June 2022, I had completed it. When I say it is the best Governor’s Lodge anywhere in this country, I mean it.
“I wouldn’t be able to say how much it cost, but I know if it’s up to N1 billion, it cannot be more than N1.2 billion, but when you see it you will think is something built with N10 billion.”
