The controversy over 2023 presidential election is still raging even as the year of the election is four years away from now.
It will be recalled that the issue of which geo-political zone in Nigeria would produce the next President came to the fore after a comment made by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi just a few months after the the 2019 general elections.
Amaechi had reportedly said that the south east zone would not produce the President in 2023 because the zone did not contribute much to the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress,APC in the 2019 presidential election by voting.
Since then, different people and groups in the country have been reacting to the issue making claims as they push their stand forward.
In this recent reaction to the issue, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi criticised Amaechi’s statement on the Southeast and the 2023 president. Obi spoke with reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt after the lecture/book presentation in honour of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
Obi wondered why Amaechi, who is not from the Southeast, was writing off the region from the next presidential election. Obi said: “Amaechi is not from the Southeast, so he cannot speak for us. He is not in any position to make such statements because even he that is in APC; he did not contribute anything to the success of that election.”
“He did not even achieve anything in his own state. Those of us from the Southeast who are from the PDP contributed to the success of our party.”
He added: “For example, PDP in my state got 95 per cent. They (APC) didn’t even get 25 per cent in Rivers State. So he is not competent to speak on the Presidency in 2023.”
On the insecurity in the country, Obi said the only way to achieve peace is for the Buhari administration to unite the people and tackle insecurity headlong. “Everybody has to be involved. The President has to work with the governors and the governors should work with the local government councils. We are Nigerians. We have no other country, so everyone must be involved.”
Meanwhile, the PDP are challenging the victory of President Buhari and APC in the 2019 presidential election. The case is pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
Obi was the running mate to the PDP presidential candidate in the election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The next political move of Obi is still unknown as this is his first contest for a national office after his two terms as Governor of Anambra State.
Will he be contesting for President in 2023? No one knows for now. Only time will tell.
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