Orji Kalu withdraws from presidential race, endorses Lawan

Orji Uzor Kalu, who has been advocating for a south-easterner to become the next president, had in January announced he would contest the 2023 election if the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is zoned to the south.

The Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, has officially withdrawn from the 2023 presidential race and is throwing his weight behind the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Kalu said his decision was informed by the fact that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will do without zoning and throw the presidential race open.

According to him, if a candidate of southeast extraction fails to get the APC ticket, he will support a candidate from the Northeast. He also announced that he has picked his ticket to run for Abia North Senatorial zone.

“Since there is no zoning and the contest is open to all Nigerians , I officially withdraw from presidential contest in 2023. I have also picked ticket to run for Abia North Senatorial zone and to complete the good work I started in Abia North.

“I urge all my friends, allies and supporters in the APC to toe the line of justice by supporting Senator Ahmad Lawan, a North Easterner for the presidential ticket of the APC,” Kalu’s statement reads in part.