Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu has claimed the presidential candidates of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, and the Labour, LP, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, respectively, are indirectly “working” for the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC, flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, by dividing southern votes.
Kalu stated this while featuring on the Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme aired on Tuesday, Junuary 10, 2023.
Kalu explains his triggering statement: He said the voting base of the APC in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones remains intact.
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.
Senator Kalu also said the South-East zone does not have the numerical strength to win a presidential election without forming a strong alliance with other regions, especially the North.
In his words: “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 bases.
“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,” he said.
Why Peter Obi will not win: While also dismissing the alleged endorsement of Obi as his preferred candidate for the forthcoming presidential election, he added that Obi hails from the zone that doesn’t have the required support from the other zones because of the issues of secessionist agitation.
Kalu predicts presidential polls: Uzor Kalu has said his party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu will win the next general election, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar will come a distant second.