Umahi throws hat into APC presidential ring
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Barely 24 hours after the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, the governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi, has also done the same.
Umahi, who recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he has informed Buhari of his ambition to contest the presidency on the platform of the APC.
Umahi disclosed his latest move to State House Correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.
The reason Umahi gave for leaving PDP was the seeming reluctance of the opposition party to zone its presidential ticket to the Southeast.
However, there was no indication then that the APC agreed to zone the ticket to the Southeast either.
When asked what his chances were against the background that other big political figures had indicated their intentions to run for the same office, including Tinubu, Umahi said God would be the decider of the outcome of the race.
Tinubu, on Monday, said that he had informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition to contest for the position of president in 2023.
He said it was a lifelong ambition and that he had the confidence, the vision and the capacity to build on the vision of President Buhari.
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The former Lagos helmsman said he was at the State House to see the President on general issues concerning Nigeria including some of the concerns in the APC as well as security issues.
Asked whether he had informed President Buhari of his ambition to contest for the Presidency in 2023, he said, “I have informed the President of my 2023 presidential ambition but I have not informed Nigerians yet, I am still consulting.”
Asked what Buhari’s response was to his disclosure, Tinubu simply said the President as a democrat did not ask him to stop from contesting.
However, unlike Tinubu, Umahi did not disclose Buhari’s reaction to his ambition.
But he said he stands a chance if the APC throws the ticket open.
Umahi said if given the opportunity to govern Nigeria, his presidency will replicate his efforts in Ebonyi, saying that he has a lot to show in running governance as a business.
The Governor also said he spoke with the President about resolving the security crisis bugging the Southeast region through political solutions.