2023: Why PDP Won’t Zone Presidency To South-East – Umahi

Governor of Ebonyi state, David Umahi, has continued to wax lyrical following his defection from peoples democratic party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC)

Umahi had dumped the major opposition party for the APC last week citing injustice meted to people of South East by the PDP for his move.

However, the development has sparked controversy with PDP saying Umahi’s claim of injustice is false and that he left the party for personal reasons.

His Rivers counterpart, Nyesom Wike, who have been enmeshed in war of words with the Ebonyi governor since his defection, also said Umahi’s defection was informed by the desire to realise his presidential aspiration.

Former governor of Ekiti state and PDP stalwart, Ayodele Fayose, also corroborated Wike’s assertion.

But speaking during an interview with selected journalists, Umahi said he didn’t leave PDP because of his presidential aspiration, he added that the decision of the opposition party party not to zone the presidency to the south east was not the basis for his defection.

Asked why he did not take up the issue of injustice with the party hierarchy in other to address the problem, he said ” I make a protest today, but if it doesn’t yield fruits today, it will be on record that a governor refuses to continue with the norm of neglecting the South-East. It will be on record.”

“And I never left the PDP because it planned not to zone its ticket to the South-East; never. If you check, there are over 50 organisations clamouring for South-East Presidency come 2023 and you have never even heard my voice. My voice was merely internal and I had dissected the goings-on in the PDP and I found out that they are schemed against us as the people of South-East.”

He said the PDP had ulterior motive for not zoning the Presidency to South East. He wondered why the party NWC has not come out to publicly announce zoning of the presidency to the south east.

” I have met with the NWC. If the intention is otherwise, why is it that the leadership lacks the courage to say we zone this ticket to the South-East? There is an ulterior motive. If they zone it to the South-East, two things would have been achieved. I would have offered myself to be sacrificed, which is very good. But it will produce a result and the result is that they have recognised the South-East.

“This is very important. Don’t ever pray to be in the midst of your peers and when they are sharing, they don’t remember you; whereas when it is time to bring things together for sharing, they will remember. Pray against such. From childhood, I compete with my peers. Even if you have too much money, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me most is the wisdom of God. Whatever He asks me to do, I do.

“And as such, I will continue to say that the South-East people in the PDP have not been treated fairly and they need to be treated fairly. So, it’s up to them to say okay we call your bluff, but we zone it to the South-East. It is very important. And I will be angry if I ever wanted to fly the ticket of the PDP. I wouldn’t want to. I wouldn’t want to. I wouldn’t want it. I would be happy if I am just doing my business; I think I have a calling in business. I have not been a lone voice; maybe some people would have been talking differently but I didn’t consult you before talking. I don’t think there is anybody in the South-East that’s not in support of the PDP zoning its presidential ticket to the South-East. There is an Igbo adage that says that where one lives or stays, that he protects. You can’t bathe in Sokoto and go to Kano to look for your clothing” He said