Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on Friday said that only God can decide the fate of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and other candidates in the 2023 elections.
Governor Umahi said that the Obidient Movement, which is the political group working for the election victory of Mr. Obi is anchored on fairness and equity.
The governor stated this while speaking with State House correspondenrs after he had a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the presidential villa Abuja
Although he said that he was encouraged by the Obidient Movement and the acceptability of the LP’s Presidential candidate, he noted that the acceptability does not translate to victory, expressing the optimism that his All Progressives Congress, APC, would win the 2023 presidential election.
The Governor, who said that he was at the Presidential Villa to invite President Buhari to commission what he described as a legacy project, Ebonyi lodge in Abuja, said that the 2023 general elections would be a different ballgame
Asked if the Southeast is ready for the presidency, Umahi, who constested the presidential ticket of the APC said, “What happened during the primaries of PDP and APC, were a kind of miscalculation by people but to say whether they’re ready for the presidency of the country anytime, I think that the movement of Peter Obi is an eye opener.
“That’s why I said, I love what he’s doing. I’m encouraged by what he’s doing. Because if he’s not doing what he’s doing, it means that South East would have been forgotten. So why my party (APC) takes the victory, he would have prepared a very good ground, for the Southeast Presidency, so that nobody is going to write us off.
“And you can see the level of his acceptability, which does not translate to victory over APC. I’m sure of that, but it’s a good movement.
“And it reassures the southeast people and the entire country that, we are accepted, that we will one day become the president of this country. It is very important.”
Asked if he was dismissing Peter Obi’s movement, he said, “Peter Obi’s movement and all the movement are anchored on God’s will, is only God who knows who will win, but there must be a wish. As a party man, I would wish that our party wins. And if God says no, the next person I wish that should win is Peter Obi because I believe strongly and I will say it anywhere in this north/south presidency after the north has taken eight years, there is no moral justification for the north to be seeking to take another eight years, it should go to the south.
“And so I’m not wishing Peter Obi away. God has the final say and he has the power and gives to whomever He wishes.”
Further asked if Peter Obi has any chance of winning the 2023 presidential election, he said, “Everybody has chances of winning and chances of losing but you must always have a wish. Yes.”
Fielding question as a critical stakeholder of the APC, the critical selling points of his party in the southeast when campaign starts, he said that it was going to be a different thing.
According to him, “when campaign starts, yes, the interest of our people in terms of presidency is there, you can’t wish it away. But everyone in southeast holding the ticket of their party is going to be struggling and he’s going to be fighting.
“You will not tell the guy that has the ticket of House of Assembly to look at the bigger picture of Igbo presidency. He may not see it but that is not to say that Peter Obi is not going to get substantial votes in Southeast.”
Asked to react to the impression by some social critic that since Peter Obi’s Movement started wanton killings in the Sputheast has reduced unlike what was witnessed about six or seven months ago, he said:
“You cannot technically assign the killings because of Igbo presidency. You can see that security generally is improving in the country and it has nothing to do with the movement of Peter Obi.
“Peter Obi movement is a movement that is anchored on equity, justice and fairness. It may not translate to outright win because I must defend my party, I must wish my party well and I’m having the ticket of my party. So whether what he is doing has meaning in there, not only southeast, it does have meaning. So we must never attribute the killings and in southeast to this kind of movement.”
