11th January, 2022
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu has put his presidential ambition on ice for now, as he said he has not made up his mind whether to vie in 2023.
Kalu stated this after the National leader of the All Progressives Congress Bola Tinubu declare his interest to run for president in 2023.
Kalu, who spoke to NAN on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Tuesday, said he will only now consider contesting if the All Progressives Congress (APC) zones its presidential ticket to the South-East region.
The Senator, however, commended pro-democracy groups that had endorsed him to emerge flag bearer of the APC in the 2023 presidential election.
Kalu said that they found him worthy to deliver good governance to the nation.
He said: “I want to continue to thank people who are putting up my posters all over Nigeria, I have not made up my mind whether to vie for president or not.
“But if the opportunity is given to the South-East, I will think again to see if there is the room because the party has not said where they are zoning the president to.
“But I know the party will bring a president who will work for the unity of the country which is more important.’’
Tinubu and Orji Uzor Kalu had held a closed-door meeting in Abuja in November, 2021.
The former governor of Lagos State in a brief interview with Kalu’s media team after the meeting described the interaction between him and Kalu as strictly personal.
When asked to confirm whether the visit had anything to do with the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu said: “I am here on a private visit. We discussed national interest issues, the economy and other issues bordering on security.”