Umahi, who was one of the over 20 presidential aspirants who contested the presidential ticket won by former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Tinubu, said that Igbo leaders were not sincere and committed to the touted Igbo presidency in 2023.
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has decried the alleged sellout of Igbo leaders and delegates at the just-concluded National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Umahi, who was one of the over 20 presidential aspirants who contested the presidential ticket won by former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Tinubu, said that Igbo leaders were not sincere and committed to the touted Igbo presidency in 2023.
The governor had 38 votes at the convention, believed to have come from the delegates from Ebonyi.
He accused delegates from the region of abandoning the presidential aspiration of Igbo people and chasing after money from aspirants from other regions.
He also blamed Prof. George Obiozor, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, for the woeful defeat aspirants from the zone suffered at the convention, saying the way Nigeria was set up, it would be difficult for an Igbo person to win any contest in such a primary election.
The governor, however, commended delegates from Ebonyi State for voting for him, stressing that by standing by him, they have made a strong statement of their genuine and unwavering stance for Nigeria’s president of South-East extraction in 2023.
“First, let me say to Ebonyi people, you are wonderful people. The Presidential election was a great eye-opener to every son and daughter of Ebonyi State and with your support, we fought very gallantly.
“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 Igbos 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.
“We would have made a strong statement in the process that the Igbos are eminently qualified with the due capacity to lead the country.
“There was no sort of lobbying I did not receive but I maintained that it was about bringing the marginalisation of the Igbos to the fore.
“The setting of the nation is well skewed against any contest for Igbo man, while every zone has about seven states or more and South-East has only five, how do you expect an Igbo man to win a contest under this kind of arrangement.
“Prof. Obiozor could not stand for Igbos when it mattered so much, it is a very big shame, I have no confidence in him and he is no longer my President. In the comity of South-East, Ebonyi people are not regarded, I continue to say that Ebonyi will never be Biafra."
Umahi, who lamented his frustrations, said, “I weep for our leaders, we are now regarded as people that will sell anything for the sake of money. It is about equity, justice, and fairness upon which I continue to shout for the unity of this country.
“I am the Governor of Ebonyi State, the only agenda I have for South-East now is Ebonyi Agenda. I continue to say that he who sells his brother, even the buyer will not trust him.
“Anyone that fights against the interest of Ebonyi people in the South-East, I will fight the person publicly. Ndigbo, get your PVCs (Permanent Voter Cards) and bond together. You have seen that nobody wants you anymore, we have the fighting spirit and the spirits of our founding fathers have been rekindled to fight for us.
“When honourable people are needed in South East, they will come to Ebonyi State, everything is not about money.”