Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has said Nigeria needs a president from the South-East geo-political zone to create wealth and correct the injustices meted to the people of the area over the years.
Umahi, a Presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this when he addressed delegates of the party from the South-East in Owerri on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor was received by his counterpart in Imo, Hope Uzodimma, chairmen of the party in the zone, delegates and some stakeholders of the party.
Umahi said the country needed a president that could provide development and security to Nigerians.
“Let me tell Nigerians that there is nothing to be afraid of in an Igbo man becoming president. We need to be wise and stand together.
“We have property and investments everywhere, so when people tell you about Biafra, it is not about seceding at all.
“We want one Nigeria built on the platform of equity, fairness and justice; the Igbo man will do better under a united Nigeria. We want to be fairly treated,” he said.
The presidential hopeful said the 2023 election was a time for Nigerians to prove the ‘no victory, no vanquish’ declaration that was made after the civil war.
He stressed the need for rotation between the North and South, saying that the body language of President Buhari also suggested that he wanted power shifted to the South.
However, he noted that there were more people contesting from the South-South and South-West regions than the South-East.
“Remove zoning and let us wear our credibility, capacities and ability to perform; we can take Nigeria to the next level. We can improve on the great work of President Buhari.
“My position is that our brothers from the South-South and South-West should give us a chance on the same platform upon which we demand that the presidency should come to the South-East.
“The moment they do that in the spirit of oneness, you will see everything falling in place and it will be swift.
“But if the presidency is rotated between regions, I have continued to say that the North-East and South-East are the two regions that are most marginalized,” he added.
Umahi, who commended Buhari for constructing the second Niger Bridge, added that only the APC could boast of tangible projects in the South East.
According to him, the development in Imo and Ebonyi will be the microcosm of the macrocosm Nigeria is looking for in every indices of development and leadership.
In his remarks, the state Chairman of the party, Mr Macdonald Ebere while welcoming Umahi, urged delegates to project APC in the zone.
Ebere, who spoke on behalf of other state chairmen, also commended Umahi’s political ambition to govern the country.
