Former two-term governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu has said President Muhammad Buhari will be supported by the Igbo come 2019 elections.
In an interview with The Sun, Kalu said although the Igbo were behind former President Goodluck Jonathan and did not support Buhari’s presidential campaign in 2015, he was certain the next elections will produce a different result.
Kalu also revealed he will be seeking a Senatorial seat in the 2019 elections, despite being beaten twice by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate.
An excerpt from the interview:
You said recently that the North deserves to have two terms in office; but that seems to be against the sentiments of some people who say that President Muhammadu Buhari has not done well.
It depends on which side of the Atlantic or Sahara you are speaking from. To me, Buhari has done very well in some areas, but needs to do better in other areas. His illness has hindered the progress of what he would have done, but I believe that now that he is back, he will do better. When he was abroad, people said that he was gone, but I insisted that he was alive and would come back healthier and would contest the 2019 elections. This is not just about Buhari, but it is for the South-east because they need to present a presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. After Buhari’s eight-year tenure, no one can tell us that the South-east cannot produce the president, whether it is me or another person. In 2019, the Igbo will support Buhari massively. They did not support him in 2015 but they will support him in 2019. I am passing a vote of confidence on him as a person because he has integrity..
What has he done to deserve a vote of confidence?
I am not the only one passing a vote of confidence on him; the World Bank, the European Union and all the powerful countries are behind him for a second term because they feel that he has a lot to offer. Buhari does not need any endorsement from anyone because he is capable of contesting and he is popular enough to win against any other candidate.