EDO STATE deputy chairman of the Labour Party, Chief Patrick Eholor has criticised proponents of southern/northern presidency, saying that such calls were diversionary, threat to peace and unpatriotic.
He was speaking as the 2015 presidential elections continues to heat up the polity, and called on Nigerians to shun regional or ethnic politics but commit to vote in an individual that is capable to transform and unite the entire nation as was the case in other advanced nations of the world.
“This is where we shoot ourselves in the foot; I’m a Canadian and a Nigerian citizen; a country where I have the privilege to be a citizen. We have French Anglo-phone and English speaking; we don’t care if the French or Indian becomes the prime minister. When I felt President Jonathan was wrongly denied to take over from Late President Yar ‘ Adua on account of the ill health of the late President, I was the first to approach a court to get an order of mandamus because I had a lot of respect for Jonathan”
Eholor said, “IF you ask me today to score Mr President I will probably score him 2 over 10. He has failed completely to tackle corruption; he couldn’t deal with it. It will interest you to know that Mr President
will rather travel with Mr Femi Otedola to China, a man who bribed a lawmaker during the subsidy saga.”
He added, “I don’t care who becomes the president because of sentiment or about South-South agenda. The northerners have not helped the northerners and that is why we have high rates of poverty, Boko Haram insurgency and destitute everywhere roaming the streets of the north. So the issue is not about South-South presidency. We should look for people who can actually tackle the ills in the society.”
On the crisis in Rivers State, Eholor, who commiserated with the wife of the president on the death of her mother, urged the first lady to emulate Michelle Obama whom he said devotes her time in teaching moral to American students and not meddling into politics.
“To us what is happening in Rivers State is likened to the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob; it is crazy. The wife of the president has so many powers which she doesn’t deserve. Look at Michelle Obama; she
is interested in taking campaigns to schools and educate the children by giving hope to them. I’m sure that if care is not taken the American prediction of 2015 may come to pass, but I hope it doesn’t happen,” he added.