While accusing him of betraying the Igbo cause, the nonagenarian said that although Kalu was one of the oldest vocal frontline politicians in the South-East, he doubted his sincerity and transparency.
While accusing him of betraying the Igbo cause, the nonagenarian said that although Kalu was one of the oldest vocal frontline politicians in the South-East, he doubted his sincerity and transparency.
Clark, therefore, called on southeast leaders to “sanction any of their sons or daughters trying to betray them, otherwise, your case will be jeopardized from your home.”
He said it was surprising that Kalu did not only drop his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election but also declared his support for the presidential ambition of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, from Yobe State in North East “on puerile and misinformed reasons that only South-East and North-East has not produced civilian Head of State in Nigeria.”
Clark bared his mind in a statement titled: “Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is the betrayer of his ethnicity.”
He statement read, “Recently, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, publicly announced to Nigerians that he will drop his Presidential ambition if the Presidential seat was not zone to the South East. He even went to the extent of floating an organization known as Njiko Igbo Movement, whose purpose is to help secure the Presidential seat for a Nigerian citizen of Igbo extraction, Because an Igbo has only held the position of a Head of State for 6 months since Nigeria’s Independence.
“The Movement has branches and support groups throughout the Diaspora. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, launched the organization together with former Nigerian Senator, Emmanuel Onwe, a human rights advocate and lawyer, earlier based in the United Kingdom.
“Unexpectedly, the same Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, did not only drop his ambition to contest the Presidential election but also declared his support for the Presidential ambition Distinguished Senator, Ahmad Lawan, from Yobe State in North East on puerile and misinformed reasons that only South-East and North-East have not produced civilian Head of State in Nigeria.
“To quote him from the Sun Newspapers of Tuesday, May 10, 2022, he said; “In the absence of a South Easterner being President of Nigeria in 2023, I have my full support for a North Easterner. This is because it would be the closest to the equity, fairness, and Justice everyone is talking about. It further means that the justice is on its way to the South East”.
“This most dishonest and shameless statement from a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shows clearly that this is another Igbo man, who is out to betray his people simply for selfish reasons. Both the APC and the PDP have not officially decided against zoning the Presidency to Southern Nigeria. Why is Senator Kalu jumping the gun, if he has no ulterior motive.
“There are many Igbos from the South East, who are in the Presidential race, particularly, in his political party, APC, that is available and willing to receive the support of their brother, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, but he is insincere and dishonest. Why is he supporting the North-Eastern Presidential aspirant against his fellow Igbo men from the South-East?
“It is a blatant lie and fraudulent for Senator Kalu to say that the North-East is the nearest to the South-East for States that have not produced the Head of State or the President of Nigeria. As a Senator, I expected him to know that Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, who was the Prime Minister of Nigeria between 1957 and 1966, was from Bauchi State in North East.
“In Parliamentary Government, which Nigeria was practicing until 1966, the Prime Minister was the Chief Executive of the Government and was equivalent to the post of Head of State or President from 1979. It is therefore not true that the North East of Nigeria has not presented or provided a Head of State or President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I call on the southeast leaders to sanction any of their sons or daughters trying to betray them, otherwise, your case will be jeopardized from your home.”
Reacting to the comment, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu said;
"I have great respect for Chief Edwin Clark; He is an elderstatesman and a patriotic Nigerian. I want to sincerely commend him for openly supporting the South-East geo-political zone to produce the next President of Nigeria.
"It is imperative I remind him that I didn't betray my people, rather I am doing my best to reintegrate them into mainstream politics.
"In the last two years, I have been at the forefront agitating for a Nigerian President of South-East extraction, when most of them were all saying "Southern Presidency". None of these actors openly said the South-East geo-political zone should have it. I was shocked that even the zone the entire South-East supported in unity including myself in 2011 and 2015 respectively, has the highest number of contestants without thinking of their brothers, knowing fully well that the South East zone has remained the only zone in Southern Nigeria that has not produced the nation’s president since the rotation convention dispensation that began in 1999.
"Coming to this late hour to support the South East is rather suspicious to me if they couldn't do it two years ago. The truth is, Chief Edwin Clark knows the South-East cannot get the ticket of any party in an open contest as it is today without a gentleman agreement to concede it to the South-East.
"If all the aspirants from the South-West and South-South cannot support their brothers from the South-East, It is only politically correct to support the North-East geo-political zone, which to me is the shortest route for the South-East geo-political zone to produce the president after their 8 years instead of waiting for another 16 years.
"It is rather surprising to me that Chief Edwin Clark didn't call the majority of other Southerners including governors working against the South-East to order or the names he called me.
"What did you say or do when all the aspirants from South South and South West were buying forms to run against South Easterners who have always supported them .
"I know some people want us to keep quiet and then allow other Southerners take turn of South East. If you meant well for the South East , you could have discouraged other aspirants against running for President. Nothing stops the South supporting only presidential aspirants from the South East . The betrayers are those who don’t care about South East . We are wiser.
"Let me also inform the elderstatesman that majority of the Southerners in his party (PDP) are secretly supporting a Northeasterner to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
"The welfare of my people is a passion that is driving me, I am not doing anything to advance my personal interest or seek personal glorification. I also lost my businesses fighting for the political interest of the Igbos. I cannot betray them now if I didn't do it yesterday".
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