I’m glad PDP left presidential contest open – Udom

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and one of the presidential aspirants on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said he is happy the leading opposition party left the contest for its standard flag bearer open.

Udom, who spoke to select journalists at the weekend in Abuja, said there was nothing wrong with the decision to allow aspirants from all parts of the country to vie for the coveted ticket because that was the best way to produce a formidable candidate that will resonate with the electorate and defeat the ruling APC in 2023.

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He, however, said in a free and fair contest, “I am the best among all the contenders because of my background.”

“I am very happy that this thing is left open so that when I emerge, the whole country will know that I am a bridge builder even if it wasn’t zoned to the South, though by right, and based on my party constitution, that is what would have been done. But I keep repeating myself that the party is supreme; wherever they say we should go, we should go,” the governor said.

Asked what he did in Akwa Ibom that he will do at the national level to reduce tension and suspicion among diverse groups, Governor Emmanuel said, “Immediately I became the governor, I launched a moral rebirth which was inculcated in everybody that what you have is all that you need to get to where you want to be.

“We must rise above biases, gender, religion, ethnicity, everything. So, we used that moral rebirth to bring people together; that was how we built bridges. Everybody now is one and we are moving towards the same direction.

“Also, we don’t discriminate in terms of development. There is no single local government for which we have not brought at least a project.”

The governor said key positions were also shared among the three major groups in the state.

“When we come in as president, the six regions of this country would be taken along; we won’t just be making appointments from one section and ignoring others,” he said.