2023 presidency: No zoning in APC — Kalu

The Chief Whip of the National Assembly, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has said there is no zoning of presidential ticket in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2023 presidential race, adding that “the position is an open basket for anyone that intends to vie for it.”

Kalu stated this after his private visits to former President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar at their Uphill residence in Minna.

• 2023: We’re more concerned about competency than zoning- Arewa Youth president
• Dogara: I am more concerned with Nigerian challenges than 2023

He noted that zoning is a party issue, stressing that there is no zoning in the All Progressives Congress (APC) which makes the presidency an open basket for anyone to fight for in 2023.

“Zoning is a party issue, every party has the right to say where they want a position to come from but in APC, there is no issue of zoning.

“Anybody can contest for the presidency, it has not been zoned to any region and zoning is not in the constitution of APC and as long as it is not a constitutional matter of APC, the Presidency is an open basket where everybody can fight for,” he said.

While speaking on insecurity in the country, he noted that there are a lot of sabotage in the fight against insecurity which he said contributed to the inability of government to defeat it.

According him, it is only sabotage that has made insecurity to defy every solution the government have been applying.

“Security is a big challenge to everybody and the Senate is going to address this issue. Insecurity has defied any solution. I see a lot of sabotage in this issue of insecurity and I can assure you that the Senate will address the issue of sabotage,” he said.

Kalu further noted that the President is very angry about the recurring issue of insecurity, stating that he is sure that new strategies are being looked into to combat it.

Kalu said he was in Minna to congratulate General Babangida on his 79th birthday and greet General Abdulsalam for his successful medical treatment abroad.