A former deputy governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be killing two birds with one stone if it fields the Minister of Transportation, Mr. ChibuikeAmaechi, as its candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
Madumere spoke to reporters on the sides of APC’s convention at the Eagles Square, Abuja last Saturday
He stated that Amaechi’s candidacy would enable the party to at once respond positively to the general expectation that presidential power should return to the south in 2023 and as well meet the quest by the Igbo in particular to have one of their own occupy the number one office in Nigeria.
According to Madumere, “Amaechi’scandidacy will be accepted by every part of the South and the Southeast in particular since he is an Igbo and my people are clamoring for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction”.
Speaking further, Madumere, who commended his party for conducting a hitch-free and successful convention, said: “There is nothing sacrosanct about my position. I am not ruling out the possibility of a candidate from the Southeast emerging as our party’s flag bearer but I am talking about making it easier for our party to win the 2023 presidential election.”
He added: “If the truth must be told, the average northerner is hesitant over the idea of a president from the Southeast for reasons that are quite obvious and as far as I am concerned, these are little or no time to change that narrative. Yet we are talking of gargantuan bloc of votes from that part of the country. So what do we do? To say it doesn’t matter? That would be quite unrealistic. So for me, the thing to do would be to field Amaechi who, though not from the Southeast, is an Igbo man. In other words, the average Igbo will vote for Amaechi because he is one of us. So it will be a win win situation for the party”.
Amaechi, a few days ago denied nursing a presidential ambition when he appeared on a programme on ChannelsTelevision. But Madumere, who has been at the forefront of drumming up support for the rumored presidential ambition of Amaechi, said: “The process is still on going. Only a dead man cannot change his mind. I think we have gotten to a stage where Nigerians should identify those they deem capable of leading the country and encourage them to run. The other time, the Emir of Daura, Dr. Umar Frank Umar, while turbanning the minister wished that he rises to a higher office to serve the country. There are so many other people like that who admire Mr. Amaechi for his sterling qualities and his impeccable performance both as a governor and currently as a minister.”