Leader of the Abia House of Assembly, Hon. Chinedum Orji, has said that ex- President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential poll because he depended on people who had no electoral value for his victory.
Hon. Orji who stated this while addressing stakeholders from his Umuahia Central state constituency who visited him, regretted that instead of working with right people who could help deliver him, Jonathan trusted expired political forces.
His words: Jonathan failed the 2015 election because he was busy sharing money to those who have no electoral value and neglected his real people who meant well for him.”
Orji who is son of the immediate-past governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji, expressed displeasure that instead of consolidating in his strongholds, Jonathan took his own people for granted and concentrated on zones which after collecting his money, still betrayed him.
He called on the South East geopolitical zone to admit the fact that it lost out in the national politics in 2015 and begin now to strategise ahead of 2019 to regain its position in the political equation of Nigeria.
The lawmaker challenged Ndigbo to stop the “ pull him down syndrome” and emulate Hausa and Yoruba style of politics as both tribes unite and collectively pursue their regional interests irrespective of the political parties of their leaders.
“Ndigbo should unite and pursue their political interest together as one people instead of pulling down one another. Let’s learn to use our champions who have the capacity and can use their national contact to negotiate better for us as a people.
“If it is Senator Ike Ekweremadu that can use his national and international contacts to get our share, or Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe , or any other prominent Igbo son, let us all rally behind him and forget about his state of origin.
“Ndigbo need to be wiser and strategise well ahead of 2019 otherwise we will continue to complain. Look at the on- going continuous voter registration exercise, how many of us have registered? We need to wake up politically if we must take what belongs to us”.
Defending his father, Senator Orji for using his influence while holding sway as governor to facilitate power shift to Abia South in 2015, said he had no regrets over his role during the election.
He insisted that contrary to belief in some quarters, his father supported power shift in the spirit of equity and justice as Abia South was the only zone which had not taken a shot at the seat of power.
“The reason we supported power shift to Abia South was to ensure peace in the state because if Abia North, and Abia Central have taken their turns why won’t Abia South also produce governor?”
“I will never regret any role I played in the last election. There is no regret for supporting power shift to Abia South.”
The lawmaker who said the youth empowerment programme of his father which was aimed at lifting youths out of poverty was his brain child, but regretted that most beneficiaries of the scheme sabotaged their interest during the 2015 election.
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