The Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, says the region would only support the presidential aspirant who would guarantee equity, fairness and justice in 2019.
Umahi spoke yesterday when he received a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the Government House, Abakaliki.
He said: “As people (aspirants) come to speak, they (Igbo) guage and if any body tells you that he can influence the choice of any aspirant in this State, the person is not telling you the truth.
“At the end of the day, the decision of the best aspirant to follow will be that of the people…and we will definitely let the aspirants know who our choice is and the reason behind the choice.
“We may not be that rich but we are rich in truth. Ebonyi State, your excellency and indeed the South East is very desirous of the unity of this country; the oneness of this country. We desire equity, justice and fairness.
“We are very free people and very loving people, and that’s why we can come to your backyard in Kano, buy lands and build houses and get ourselves at rest with the people and we and the people will do business.
“And if any body says that South-east will not negotiate with the person that they shall cast their votes for, it is not true.”
He noted that with the large crowd of followers and the love expressed for Kwankwaso in the State, he is “evidently qualified” for the job he was seeking.
Speaking, Kwankwaso officially introduced and handed over the representatives of his campaign organisation, known as Kwankwasiyya Movement, to the Governor and the party leadership in the State.
Kwankwaso said he was a privileged and experienced politician, noting that out of the total of 15 different elections he had contested, he had only lost two.
He pledged to tackle the issues of power, education, health, as well as redeem the infrastructural deficiencies in the country while improving the resources of the State in particular and the South-east zone in general.
Assessing other aspirants, the former governor said: “Your Excellency, to me anybody who is in politics and never contested any election, if you are looking for field politician, it shouldn’t be him.
“You need to contest and win and contest and lose to fill all the gaps because you have to learn how to manage success in politics. You have to also learn how to manage failure in politic.”
Kwankwaso added that Umahi “is a Governor who I can comfortably recommend for second term.
“Anybody like him should have an opportunity to spend eight years so that not only he will complete the projects and programmes that he has started. I’m sure he will start many more and complete them in the future.”
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