The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu says the voting base of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones remain intact even as he said Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Peter Obi of the Labour (LP) and other candidates are indirectly “working” for the victory of the APC flag bearer, Bola Tinubu ahead of the February 25 presidential election by dividing southern votes.
Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, stated this on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme aired on Tuesday.
The APC chieftain also said he does not believe in pre-election polls which have put Obi ahead of the 18 presidential candidates including Tinubu.
“I don’t believe in the poll; the poll is not realistic,” Kalu said. If the poll wants to be realistic, Kwankwaso and Peter Obi are working for us because nobody has touched our base; nobody has touched the strongest base of APC. The North-West and the North-East are our base.
“But come to the South-East, it is divided, come to the South-South, it is divided, it is finished with Obidients. Nobody has touched our base; our base is still intact; it is as good as anything.”
According to the federal lawmakers, pre-election polls were conducted among the elite and not true representation or reflection of the thinking and general voting behavior of the electorate.
‘Tinubu Will Win Followed By Atiku’
The former Abia governor said Tinubu will win the next general election and the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will come distant second followed by others.
“Let me give you what I think will come: Tinubu will come distant first and Atiku will come distant second and others will follow,” he said.
Kalu said the South-East does not have the numerical strength to win a presidential election without solid alliance with the northern region and other zones in the South.
“Politics is not about sentiments; people are putting a lot of sentiments about this. I am an Igbo man, where am I going to get the votes. I have forms people bought for me during the primaries; they are four forms people bought for but I told them I will not run; I can only run if all 18 political parties zone their presidential candidates to South-East because we don’t have the numbers to follow it up,” he said.
According to him, the South-East zone where Obi hails from doesn’t have the support from the other zones because of the issues of secessionist agitation.
“The other zones have been with us but for the last seven years, the issue of IPOB and Biafra agitation changed the scenario. This is the truth. I am not afraid to speak the truth. People tell you: ‘we don’t trust Igbo elite; they can divide the country, they can do this’. This is not true. I am a Nigerian by heart.”
When asked about whether agitation by Yoruba Nation demonstrators in the South-West has affected the trust of the Nigerian people in a candidate from the zone, Kalu said the agitation in the South-West is not as heavy as that in the South-East.
“The agitation in the South-West is not the same as the agitation in the South-East. The agitation in the South-East is heavy. Nigeria and the Nigerian people need to find a solution,” the lawmaker stated.
He also dismissed the endorsement of Obi as his preferred candidate for the February 25 presidential election.
