Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi Wednesday said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will find it difficult to approach Nigerians to campaign for votes if it decides to field former President Goodluck Jonathan as its standard-bearer for the 2023 general election.
The Governor made this known while he spoke to State House Correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari on a thank you visit to the Presidential Villa.
He was however skeptical about claims that the former President had abandoned the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the APC to re-contest for his former office.
However, Jonathan through his spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, immediately refuted the development, explaining that he would openly declare interest, if he had one for the office of President.
Speaking on the development, Governor Umahi said the reported purchase of presidential nomination forms for the former President, whom he described as his father and benefactor, might be a ploy by mischievous people, who intended to embarrass him. Noting that if the stories claiming that Jonathan defected to the ruling APC to re-contest the presidency turn out to be true, then such a development would become another wonder of the world, deserving a space in the Guinness Book of Records.
Umahi said, “Jonathan is my father and God used him and his wife to make me a governor of the state. So anybody who has done anything for me, I’ve always remained very grateful to such person and I will continue to be very grateful to him, the wife for being available and my destiny helper, to achieve that feat.
“Probably if that miracle did not take place, then the miracles that happened in Ebonyi State, in terms of total evolution and transformation wouldn’t have taken place. So, he’s a man we can’t forget, just like Sani Abacha, who created the state and Mr. President. Of course, we’ve named the airport after him, we’ve named the light tunnel after him, we’ve named the Presidential Lodge after him.
“Good intention that we don’t forget people who have helped us, but on the question of joining, I may not say much about that because I’ve seen a lot of write ups, denials, but if he decides to join and to run, it will, for me, become one of the wonders in this century.
“The reason is that if you go and see the campaign programmes of APC and you now ask President Jonathan to come and run, I don’t know what will be our campaign promises and what will be the stories we’ll be telling Nigerians.
“I believe strongly that he was not aware of the forms and I want to believe that people that are mischievous would have bought the forms to embarrass him. But from what I read, he has quickly distanced himself from that. But like I said, if that is not the case, then the Guinness Book of Records is not totally filled up”, Umahi said.
