Even as he faces continuous criticism for defecting from the People’s Democratic Party, the governor of Ebonyi State, Mr David Umahi, has said his presidential ambition was in the hand of God and not threatened by his defection to the All Progressive Congress.
Umahi was speaking on a national television on Monday morning monitored by our correspondent in Abuja.
He had defected to the APC in 2020 after reportedly obtaining a promise to get the party’s ticket to contest the 2023 presidential election, with an understanding that the party will micro-zone its ticket to the South East geopolitical zone.
But in less than 24 hours after the declaration of the APC National Leader and former governor of Lagos State, Mr Bola Tinubu, Umahi also announced his bid.
He had been campaigning and insisting that parties zone their presidential tickets to the South East on the basis of equity.
But feeling worried that the gentleman agreement appears not to hold water any longer with the expression of interests by people from different geopolitical zones, Umahi said his ambition was in the hand of God.
According to him, “The more we have governors in the APC, the more chance we have to win the election. The more chance we have to continue the project of Nigeria from where Mr President will leave it by 2023.”
Umahi had also explained that one of the reasons he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC, was that the PDP did not consider zoning the Presidency to the South-East geopolitical zone.
Before making his declaration, Umahi said he had told president Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition but failed to say what the president said in return.
