The Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has said the victory of Senator Andy Uba in the November 6 Anambra State Governorship Election, will facilitate an Igbo presidency in 2023.
Okechukwu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council for Anambra State, said the recent endorsement of Uba’s governorship ambition by President Muhammadu Buhari had implication for Anambra State and Ndigbo.
President Buhari had received the APC standard-bearer for the poll, Senator Uba, assuring him that he was optimistic about his success in the election.
Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja, Okechukwu said: “The endorsement gesture, acceptance and support by the President are signals to other good and correct political possibilities for the state, Southeast and Ndigbo.
“With President Buhari’s endorsement of Senator Uba, it is now left to Anambra voters to endorse him, to facilitate Ndigbo’s quest to produce Nigeria’s President of Igbo extraction in 2023.
“My appeal to my in-laws, Ndi Anambra, especially the electorate, is to consider the strategic underpinnings of electing Senator Uba, now that President Buhari has endorsed him.
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“We should not forget also that the defection of state lawmakers from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and two amazons – distinguished Senators Stella Oduah and Joy Emordi, are the icing of victory cake.
“These are positive signs that Senator Uba’s victory on November 6 will strengthen our bargain for Nigeria’s president of Igbo extraction in 2023. Coming barely three days after I urged APGA leaders to see the bigger picture, I am convinced that our people are prepared to vote right.”
Reacting to insinuations that the APC was focusing on the 2023 presidential slot more than on the personal qualities of the Anambra State governorship candidate, Okechukwu remarked how pundits and eminent leaders of the party had decried the low electoral returns from the Southeast.
He said the low voter endorsement had been militating against the zoning of the presidential slot to the Southeast, stressing that “with Uba’s election as governor in November, nobody can obstruct the ceding of the presidential ticket to the Southeast.”
“Senator Uba’s election will leave APC with three out of the five states making up the zone. This is my perspective. The zoning of the presidency to the Southeast will also quell separatist agitations in the zone as well as put an end to the musings of characters like Nnamdi Kalu and claims of marginalisation,” the VON DG said.
He assured the people that Uba would bring to the table, inclusive governance and abundant international investment, given the contacts of the former representative of Anambra South Senatorial District.
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