Road to 2023: Kwankwaso never denigrated South East

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The leadership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has denied claims that its presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Sen Rabiu Kwankwaso, maligned the South East region.

Kwankwaso, while inaugurating NNPP’s Gombe State Executives was quoted to have said the people of the South East were good in business but at the bottom of politics in Nigeria.

But, the National Chairman of NNPP, Prof. Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali, in a statement yesterday, noted that the former minister of defence was quoted out of context.

Alkali explained that the NNPP would not descend to the level of insulting any region, stressing that the South East would be widely consulted and carried along in the scheme of things.

He said it was disingenuous and uncharitable for anybody or group to paint Kwankwaso in a bad light because of politics.

He said: “The NNPP wishes to categorically state that the statement of its Presidential Candidate, Senator Kwankwaso at the occasion was situated out of the contest.

“The NNPP Presidential candidate has always emphasized that the Igbos were frontrunners in the fight for the nation’s struggle for independence, and had produced the first President of the country in the person of late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of the Senate, Dr Nwafor Orizu, former Vice President, late Dr Alex Ekwueme, four former presidents of the Senate from 1999 to date and other top political office holders.

“NNPP as a political party on the ballot in 2023 believes that it has what it takes like some other political parties to rejuvenate the present situation of the country and will not in any way disparage any zone or people of any political party.

“It is pertinent to state that the discussions with any political party or individual is an ongoing thing that would bring the desired change of a new Nigeria.

“However, the party or its presidential candidate would not in any way malign any zone or any individual as we believe that NNPP we desire the votes of all the zones and all electorate to govern Nigeria

“We want to state that NNPP will canvass votes from all Geo-political zones to win the 2023 Presidential election and would not in any way consider any zone less as we have supporters and candidates all over the country.”