By our reporter| Ebonyi state governor, David Umahi on Monday said the state will vote for Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling APC, and not Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) flagbearer in the 2023 presidential election.
Obi, the LP candidate is widely believed to have locked down the vote from the south east region ahead the 2023 presidential election.
But speaking at the swearing-in of new commissioners and aides at the government house in Abakaliki, on Monday, Umahi said the states that LP has helped should vote for Obi.
“Our party is APC and not the Labour Party. We will not vote for the Labour Party. We will vote for APC,” he said.
“The states that the Labour Party has helped should vote for them.
“The agenda of God for Ebonyi state is Ebonyi state agenda and that is what you should be telling them when they come to ask you, who will you vote for. Tell them not to look for our votes, our votes belong to APC.”
Umahi also expressed dismay at the low turn out at various voter registration centres in the state.
“It is very unfortunate that the different local government areas in the state are yet to witness high turnout of voters’ registration in the state, apart from Afikpo south that has so far registered over 71,000 voters, others are yet to make any meaningful impact,” he said.
Umahi was one of the contestants at last Tuesday’s APC presidential primary won by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
He polled 38 votes, and has since accused APC delegates in the south-east and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo of selling their votes.
Speaking at his hometown, Uburu, during the maiden matriculation ceremony of the King David University of Medical Sciences on Saturday, the Ebonyi state governor said his focus, henceforth, would be on Ebonyi and not on the Igbo in general.
“I had a series of meetings with the party’s chairmen in the five states of the zone in the company of its national vice-chairman. I implored the delegates that the issue was not about me, but the mood of the Igbo in the nation. I implored that they should vote for any south-east aspirant, so that when the votes are counted, we would not be missing,” NAN quoted him as saying.
“We would have made a strong statement in the process that the Igbo are eminently qualified with due capacity to lead the country.
“They will come later to preach about Igbo unity and its agenda but henceforth, the only agenda I know is the Ebonyi agenda. This shows that even if we have equal number of local government areas and delegates such as other zones, we would still trade our votes.
“We are currently regarded as people who can sell anything but they should remember that anyone who betrays his brother will lose the trust of those who gained from the betrayal.
“There was no sort of lobbying I did not receive, but I maintained that it was about bringing the marginalisation of the Igbo to the fore.
“You (Ebonyi delegates) have made yourselves reference points of steadfastness in the country and when people are seeking trustworthy people, they will come for you.
“I have lost total confidence in the leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organisation, and will openly confront anyone who challenges the Ebonyi agenda.”
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