By Cross Udo
The Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, yesterday said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may find it difficult to campaign with former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate.
Umahi also said those who obtained the APC presidential nomination forms for the former president could be mischievous people whose intentions were to embarrass him.
He, however, said the success story of his emergence as the Ebonyi State governor in 2015 could not have been possible without President Jonathan and his wife, Patience.
Umahi, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to present him a “Thank you” letter from Southeast leaders following his recent visit to Ebonyi, told State House correspondents that it would be another wonder of the world to have President Jonathan in the race for the presidential ticket of the APC.
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He said even though there have been denials regarding the former President’s rumoured move to the APC if he eventually joins the ruling party it would be material for the Guinness Book of Records.
The Governor wondered how the APC would reconcile its policies and promises with those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under which Jonathan was President.
Recall that it was reported on Monday that the former President had joined the race, following the purchase of a set of APC’s nomination and expression of interest forms by a group of Fulani cattle herders for him.
Jonathan, through his spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, had immediately refuted the development, explaining that he would openly declare an interest if he had one for the office of President.
But asked what was his perspective on the Jonathan in the race, he said, “Jonathan is my father and God used him and the wife to make me a governor of the state and so, anybody who has done anything for me, I’ve always remained very grateful to such person and I will continue to be very grateful to him, the wife for being available and my destiny helper, to achieve that feat.
“Probably if that miracle did not take place, then the miracles that happened in Ebonyi State, in terms of total evolution and transformation wouldn’t have taken place.
“So, he’s a man we can’t forget, just like Sani Abacha, who created the state and Mr. President. Of course, we have named the airport after him, we have named the light tunnel after him, and we have also named the Presidential Lodge after him.
“Good intention that we don’t forget people who have helped us, but on the question of joining, I may not say much about that because I’ve seen a lot of write-ups, denials, but if he decides to join and to run, it will, for me, become one of the wonders in this century.
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“The reason is that if you go and see the campaign programmes of the APC and you now ask (ex) President Jonathan to come and run, I don’t know what will be our campaign promises and what will be the stories we’ll be telling Nigerians.
“I believe strongly that he was not aware of the forms and I want to believe that mischievous people would have bought the forms to embarrass him.
“But from what I read, he has quickly distanced himself from that. But like I said, if that is not the case, then the Guinness Book of Records is not filled up.”
Speaking on the drama trailing the dialogue of zoning in the political parties, especially in the ruling APC and the main opposition, the PDP, Umahi described the ongoing campaigns by aspirants from the Southwest and South-South as a betrayal of the zoning arrangement.
The governor, who trailed the history of successions since 1999, noted that there ought to be any ambiguity in deciding the part of the south where the Presidency ought to be zoned, adding that if aspirants from two other two southern geopolitical zones should vacate the scene for Southeast aspirants or the entire contest be thrown open to all parts, a situation which he observed would finally seal the coffin on the zoning arguments.
“When you talk about power is taken, power is never taken in Nigeria. Power is always given, we have to understand our history. In 1999, the entire north lined up behind Ekweme, a man from South-East, to clinch the ticket of PDP for the presidency.
“But because of June 12, there was a very high-level meeting of the stakeholders of this country and they came together to say let’s pacify the Southwest. Let us get a man that God had destined, he’s also my father, and then the man was gotten from the prison, and power was given. Was it taken? It was given.
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“Then Dr Ogbonnaya Onu had the ticket of APP (defunct All Peoples Party) that time and the same discussion was held and they said, okay, let’s give it to Olu Falae. So, in 1999, it was reserved for this entire Southwest and so they contested among themselves and Obasanjo won.
“We are not blackmailing the north. The Southeast is not even making noise, compared to the kind of intense campaign by the Southwest brothers and the South-South brothers because they know that power is not taken, power is given.
“So, it shouldn’t come to our turn, and then you’ll start saying that power is taken. Taken from who? You can’t take power from a military grounded man, who knows what he’s doing. So, I think that this power that has been given should be given to us, or you let the space open, let the north and south contest and anybody that wins, but then we would have killed zoning and whatever southern people had called fairness, equity, and justice.
“Otherwise, let the South-South and Southwest, if they all surrender and then the PDP zones to Southeast, Mr. President is well disposed to southern President, I can tell you this, he’s not averse to that. He’s our friend, he’s our father.
“So, let this justice that we talk about, let it transcend to all regions and all the drops of blood; both the blue blood, the yellow one, and the red one. We are all the same people, and so far the blood sustains our lives. Thank you and God bless you”, he said.
On using a political solution to resolve the incarceration of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Umahi said, Buhari had finished his beat by agreeing to the deal, but Ohaneze Ndigbo has been the one foot-dragging and refusing to do the needful.
“On the issue of the political solution, I’ve said it and I can’t say well than what I’ve said, many months back. I had explained to you here, when I met with Mr. President, I had a very detailed and frank discussion about that particular matter, because you know, South-East people are tired.
“I’ve always said that we are not in support of agitation to secede from the Nigerian nation. We want to belong to a Nigerian nation. And as the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, I’ve said it publicly, I’ve defended it. I don’t care about the attacks. I don’t care about those who have taken to politics of that unfortunate matter in our place.
“So, Mr President graciously granted my request for a political solution. But you see, when Mr. President repeatedly says the matter is in court, we must appreciate his pedigree and his integrity. We cannot just ask Mr. President and he will say, okay, I’m going to destroy the matter in court. No.
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“But there’s always room for dialogue, and out-of-court settlement and that’s what we’re looking for. And then, Mr President, said your cultural leadership should be able to initiate that with Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer.
“It’s been over six months, I have been begging the Ohanaeze President to take up that responsibility. When I was going to take that permission, he supported it, and we all agreed. And then our leader, Chief Mbazuluike has also met the president and he was well received. And, you know, he told us that the president is also well disposed to a political solution.
“Mr President is a man with a good heart, he is a kind man, a man who would release billions of Naira to his worse baseless critics, at the time of the election, you know, I wouldn’t do that as Mr. President.
“I need to be very frank, I’ve never seen such a good heart. And so he has no joy in the incarceration of anybody, he has no joy in the pains of anybody. He is a man that would say, use this instrumentality to go after my perceived enemies.
“So, that is the position. So we are waiting for the president of Ohanaeze to kickstart this political dialogue. I’ve met with the Attorney-General, and he is very well disposed to it. I’ve met the Director-General of SSS and he is very well disposed of. I’ve met with the IGP. The ball is in our hands. And the President, you know, has discharged himself creditably as a man of peace and a father to every section of this country”, he said.
