Chief whip of the senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, says the Igbo will be major beneficiaries if the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu , is elected president.
Kalu said this on Tuesday while speaking to journalists before the commencement of plenary.
The senate resumed plenary on Tuesday after a seven-week recess.
The former Abia governor also said his decision not to support a candidate from the south-east is not personal.
“Presidency is not a regional issue. I asked the political parties to zone the presidency to the south-east. When they didn’t do that, and since the presidency is not a regional issue, I had to withdraw,” he said.
“I have no problem with the Igbo man being president, but we have to do it with other Nigerians. If we don’t do it with other Nigerians, it will not work, no matter how popular you are. It’s the president of Nigeria, not the president of Igbo land.
“I’m an Igbo man to the core. I’m also a Nigerian to the core. If anyone from the south-east would have been nominated for the presidency, I would have been the one. So, it’s a party business. I have no grudges against anybody who is running.
“It is not personal. It is political and party-based. This thing is about the party winning elections. I have chosen to be in APC, why will I vote against Tinubu? It’s madness, and I’m not going to do it. Elections go along party line, not along the tribal line.
“But for now, our presidential candidate is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tinubu is strategic. He will make his presidency beneficial to the Igbos. The Igbo will be the biggest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s presidency.”
