The leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Chief Edwin Clark, has accused former Governor of Abia State, Gov Orji Kalu of betraying the Igbo Nation.
Clark said in a statement on Wednesday that Kalu’s withdrawal from the race and declaration of support for the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, on the flimsy reason that the North East has not produced the President was dishonesty and indeed a shameful act of betrayal.
He said that the Chief Whip of the Senate was only out to betray his own people by jumping the gun to throw his support for a northern aspirant even when the two major political parties have not officially decided against zoning the Presidency to the South.
The Ijaw National leader was reacting to a comment by Kalu who declared on Tuesday to back the Presidential ambition of the Senate President…
“In the absence of a South Easterner being president of Nigeria in 2023, I have my full support for a North Easterner. This is because it would be the closest to the equity, fairness and Justice everyone is talking about. It further means that the justice is on its way to the South East.” He had said
The Elder Statesman faulted Kalu’s claim that the North East was the closest to the South East as it had not produced the President arguing that Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was Prime Minister/Head of Government between 1957 and 1966.
Pa Clark who argued that there are many Igbo Presidential aspirants from the All Progressives Congress in need of Kalu’s support wondered why he decided to back somebody outside the region.
He said, “Unexpectedly, the same Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, did not only drop his ambition to contest the Presidential election, but also declaring his support for the Presidential ambition Distinguished Senator, Ahmad Lawan, from Yobe State in North East on puerile and misinformed reasons that only South-East and North-East has not produced civilian Head of State in Nigeria…
“This most dishonest and shameless statement from a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shows clearly that this is another Igbo man, who is out to betray his people simply for selfish reasons.
“Both the APC and the PDP have not officially decided against zoning of the Presidency to the Southern Nigeria. Why is Senator Kalu jumping the gun, if he has no ulterior motive.
“There are many Igbos from the South East, who are in the Presidential race, particularly, in his political party, APC, that are available and willing to receive the support of their brother, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, but he is insincere and dishonest. Why is he supporting the North-Eastern Presidential aspirant against his fellow Igbo men from the South-East?
“It is a blatant lie and fraudulent for Senator Kalu to say that the North-East is the nearest to the South-East for States that have not produced the Head of State or the President of Nigeria. As a Senator, I expected him to know that Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, who was the Prime Minister of Nigeria between 1957 and 1966, was from Bauchi State in North East.
“In Parliamentary Government, which Nigeria was practicing until 1966, the Prime Minister was the Chief Executive of the Government and was equivalent to the post of Head of State or President from 1979. It is therefore not true that the North East of Nigeria has not presented or provided a Head of State or President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Pa Clark called on Igbo leaders to caution Kalu before he jeopardizes the region’s chance of producing the next President for the country.
He recalled that the resolution of the Southern Governor that power should go to the South was in line with the constitution of the PDP which was also adopted by the APC.
“I call on the South East leaders to sanction any of their sons or daughters trying to betray them, otherwise, your case will be jeopardized from your home.
“Recently, the Southern 17 State Governors, consisting of APC and PDP, met in Asaba, Delta State headquarters, and Lagos, resolved that the next President of Nigeria in 2023 should come from the South in keeping with the conventionally agreed rotation for the Presidency between North and South.
“This decision which cut across party lines gladdened the hearts of all patriotic Southerners. This resolution did not only conform with the conventional practice by the two major political parties, the PDP, and which has actually provided for the rotation of the Presidency between the North and the South in the party’s Constitution in 2009, and which was adopted by APC in 2014.”
