Former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, Dan Ulasi has warned that Igbo people could be victimised in Lagos as a result of voting for 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
He said this during an appearance on AIT’s popular morning show, Kaakaki.
According to him, Obi has no strong political base and would “fail woefully” in his presidential bid.
He said that Obi would succeed in securing bloc votes from traders in Igbo-dominated markets like the Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos.
He said that these votes would not be enough to make Obi president but could set the Igbo voters up for attacks by the opposition.
Ulasi added that Obi would be doing APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu a favour by dividing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s.
Ulasi said, “The votes he (Obi) will get in Lagos will be core Igbo votes.
“They might be up to 20 or 25 percent. Put down the date I’m saying this. See what the rest of Yorubas will do when election comes because the election for them now is turning tribal.
“Every group is now defending their own people. Let’s assume we defend Peter (Obi), where will it lead us to?
“We’ll be removed more from the government and will not be a part of the system.”
He added, “I spoke with four or five governors before I got into Abuja yesterday. I said: ‘For the sake of our people, call Peter to a meeting with the five of you. There might be things he knows that we don’t know. Let him tell you people how he will use our votes to build votes from other parts of the country to win’.
“And I am asking our 15 senators from the South East, call Peter Obi. Let him tell us. Presidency is not the same thing as running for governor or local government chairman. You’re running for president of the whole Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Your people must be seen to be behind you seriously. If there is nothing he is hiding somewhere, why is he doing this alone?
“We’ve not seen one prominent Igbo man that has joined him in visiting any state. He is only visiting PDP governors. I’ve not seen him with any APC governor yet. If I’m wrong, I apologise.
“If those votes given to him are not managed to victory, it becomes a serious detrimental effect to Igbos elsewhere in this country, especially those trading at Alaba market and other markets in Lagos.”
Ulasi asserted that Atiku presidency was “positive” for Igbo people because he is considered part of them by virtue of marrying an Igbo woman “who has about four or five children for him”.
Quoting an Igbo proverb, he noted, “Once you marry an Igbo woman, you are part and parcel of us”.
He added that Atiku chose a “core Igbo boy from Asaba”, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.
“In APC, we have no touching point at all,” he said.
Reacting, Director-General of the Obi/ Baba-Ahmed Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe faulted Ulasi’s comments.
Sharing a video clip of Ulasi’s comment, Okupe wrote, “Dan Ulasi’s campaign against the will of God”.
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