Umahi accuses South East delegates of betrayal at APC presidential primaries

Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has accused delegates of the South East of betrayal at the All Progressives Congress presidential primaries.

Umahi said this at the maiden matriculation ceremony of King David University of Medical Sciences, Uburu on Saturday.

He accused the South East delegates of not standing united in giving their votes to an Igbo aspirant despite agitations for Igbo presidency.

According to him, only Ebonyi delegates stood out.

“The presidential primary election was an eye opener for Ebonyi State. I thank God that through your support we had a victory. We decided to contest so that the Igbo people would not say that we do not have qualified people.

“The Igbo man has five states and we should be asking why. Is there any fairness? Other states have 40 to 50 local government areas. How do you expect an Igbo man to win?

“But the worst is the attitude of delegates from the Southeast.

“Only Ebonyi people in PDP stood for both the PDP and APC. It is a very big shame that our people are crying over marginalisation.

“I had a series of meetings with the party’s chairmen in the five states of the zone in the company of its national vice-chairman. I implored the delegates that the issue was not about me, but the mood of the Igbo in the nation.

“We would have made a strong statement in the process that the Igbo are eminently qualified with due capacity to lead the country.

“They will come later to preach about Igbo unity and its agenda but henceforth, the only agenda I know is the Ebonyi agenda. This shows that even if we have equal number of local government areas and delegates such as other zones, we would still trade our votes.

“We are currently regarded as people who can sell anything but they should remember that anyone who betrays his brother will lose the trust of those who gained from the betrayal.

“There was no sort of lobbying I did not receive, but I maintained that it was about bringing the marginalisation of the Igbo to the fore.

“You (Ebonyi delegates) have made yourselves reference points of steadfastness in the country and when people are seeking trustworthy people, they will come for you.

“I have lost total confidence in the leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organisation, and will openly confront anyone who challenges the Ebonyi agenda,” he said.

He also said the President of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo can no longer be his president, saying he was ashamed of him.

“I am ashamed of the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. He can no longer be my president. It is a very big shame every Igbo man should be weeping for himself. And let me warn the youths in Ebonyi State that those leaders selling us out should not be considered our leaders again.

“You talk about marginalisation and Biafra and I continue to say that Ebonyi State cannot be part of Biafra. I weep for our leaders.

“Anyone that comes against the Ebonyi people, I will fight in public to protect the integrity of Ebonyi man. We must aspire and the kingdom of darkness cannot hold Ebonyi down.

“We have a fighting spirit and we have nothing to be afraid of. When honourable people are needed in the Southeast, they will look for Ebonyi people.”

Out of the total 285 South East delegates, Umahi was the aspirant from the region with the highest votes of 38.

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and Emeka Uwaujiba both got one vote each, while Rochas Okorocha and Ikeobasi Mokelu, both had no vote.