Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi has claimed that the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari favours the emergence of a Southerner as his successor in 2023.
The Presidential aspirant who is running for the position on the platform of the APC made the comment on Tuesday in Owerri, the Imo capital.
Umahi informed Nigerians not to be apprehensive of an individual from the South-East becoming president.
He advised them to shun the calls for secession because Igbos have property and investments everywhere.
‘So when people tell you about Biafra, it is not about seceding at all’, he stated.
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Umahi assured that “the Igbo man will do better under a united Nigeria”.
The governor also wants power rotation between the North and South maintained.
He appealed to the South-South and the South-West to support the South-East to produce the best President.
“The North-East and South-East are the two regions that are most marginalized”, Umahi said.
Meanwhile, Africa Today News, New York had earlier reported thatUmahi had at the weekend asserted that it would be difficult to arrive at a consensus on presidential aspirants in the zone for the 2023 election because of the calibre of persons vying for the exalted position.
He said the best thing that should be done is to allow the people to freely choose the person they want for the position.
Umahi spoke in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital in an interview with Nigeria Guild of Editors.
He noted that what the country needed at the moment was the best hand, who could develop infrastructure, somebody who is committed, has the transparency in governance and the fear of God, adding that consensus may not produce such a person for the Southeast for the presidential position.
The governor stressed that he possesses the best quality among other aspirants, and that the state would produce the next president of the country come 2023 if performance, competence and experience would be taken into account.