By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu, whose corruption conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court in May, has said that he would offer himself to serve as Nigeria’s president if his people want him to.
In December 2019, Kalu was convicted for criminal diversion of more than N7 billion belonging to Abia State. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. But the Supreme Court on May 8, 2020, upturned his conviction on the grounds that the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, lacked the jurisdiction to have presided over the case.
The Senate Chief Whip, who visited two former Heads of State, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, on Monday, August 31, later told journalists that he would be contesting the 2023 presidency if his people asked him to.
“I am still in the senate, and I will seek for re-election into the senate but if our people want me to serve as president I will not hesitate. Zoning is not a constitutional matter in APC. Any person can contest any post in APC,” he said.
There have been agitations for the South East to produce the president in 2023. Observers say Kalu may be positioning himself for a vice president position as a launch pad to become Nigeria’s president.