Former governor of Abia State and Senator-elect for Abia North Senatorial District, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has advised the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider future elections in its zoning positions of principal offices in the forthcoming 9th National Assembly.

Kalu, who spoke to journalists after an APC stakeholders meeting held at his Igbere, Abia State country home, said if the positions are not equitably distributed among the six geopolitical zones, the party will find it difficult to win subsequent elections in the country.

The former governor, who noted that no other person in the APC apart from President Muhammadu Buhari has the followership and capacity to single-handedly garner 12 million votes, particularly warned the party against leaving the South-East in the scheme of things.

His words: “We are not going to have another Muhammadu Buhari because Buhari is the only individual in the party, who single-handedly polled 10 to 12 million votes alone. Unless the party can guarantee that we shall be having another Buhari in 2023, the contribution of every region in the country would be very vital to the elections it will be participating in the coming years.

“So, leaving the South-East behind will be detrimental and dangerous. It is very vital to share the leadership positions equitably to give every region a sense of belonging.” On the performance of the APC in elections in the South-East, Kalu said: “For me, It is erroneous to state that our zone did not vote for the APC in the last elections because there was tremendous improvement judging from what we had in 2015. We moved from three per cent to 27 per cent in Abia and some other states. So, for me, we should respect the leadership of our party, and the leadership should also respect our views.

“If you have shared the positions and you didn’t share them well, include our region in the sharing, so that we can be empowered to go out and continue campaigning and mobilizing for the party and soliciting for our people's vote. These are very simple things to be done and nobody would want the party to lose anything.

“Yes, we should learn from our mistakes in the South-East, but I am sure we will continue to improve. What we had in 2015 was not what we had in 2019 in terms of results. President Jonathan got 2.5 million votes in this region in the last elections, but President Buhari got better results from what he got in 2015, and the PDP, this period barely made 1.4 million votes. “There is tremendous pressure on the zone and if we continue with this pressure and keep working in harmony with the national leadership of the party and that of the state, we would be able to make more progress.”

On his Senate leadership ambition, he said: “The National Assembly leadership struggle is not meant for me alone, It is not going to be my fight alone, it is going to be our fight once we are ready we are going to involve our traders, our religious leaders and some other people to first of all understand that APC is a national party and it is a party that has the capability to take care of interests of the Igbo.

“The position they are asking for is needed and legitimate to enable us move forward as a nation. If all of us sit on the floor with no one on the table, for me it is a moral thing.

“If fairness, justice and equity should be followed, what we are asking for is not very far from the truth. So, I think we should represent truth, equity, justice and fairness.

“We should also represent the diversity of the country. God has made me an Igbo man and Christian and it is for a purpose and he has also made President Buhari a northerner and a Muslim and it is also for a purpose.

“So, the purpose should be harnessed in unity. I believe that once we meet with our national leadership and agree on this appeal we are making, they will be able to move the party forward and I am sure by the next elections, the South-East will move up to 70 per cent votes for the party.

“My position on contesting the Senate presidency has changed and we respect the decision of the party. Except we want to deceive ourselves, the Senate president usually comes from the region that produces the president. So, when you go back to history, you don’t need to cause more headache for the party. You need to align with the decision of the party.”

•Sourced from New Telegraph repot

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