Kenneth Udeh
The National support group of the Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu has debunked claims by a Former Member of the House of Representatives, Adamu Garba that the APC President elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu got only 8,000 votes from Abia State.
The Political pressure group known as “OUK Grassroots Movement” described Garba’s statement as not only erroneous but ignorant clarifying that the former Abia Governor and Senate President hopeful contributed over 300,000 votes to the victory of the All Progressive Congress Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at the recently concluded Presidential elections.
The group’s national leader Alhaji Murtala Mohammed in a Press release on Tuesday expressed that aside from his error ridden comment, Garba has no moral standing to advise the Party Leadership as he had recently dumped the party over selfish reasons only to return a Month after.
Explaining further, Murtala also known as “Ten Ten” emphasised that their principal Orji Kalu gave the President elect Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu over 300,000 votes rallied by the Movement from across Nigeria during the Presidential election held on February 25. 2023
Murtala carpeted the Ex House of Reps Member’s comment on Channels TV programme Politics Today where he said that members of the All Progressives Congress in the South-East did not done enough to give them the right to demand that the office of the Senate President should come to the South-East.
Responding Alhaji “Ten Ten” dismissed the comment as fake news as according to him Hon Garba spoke out of ignorance because he doesn’t know anything about the level of political structure put in place for the Senate Chief Whip Senator Kalu by his numerous supporters across the country who wanted the former Abia Governor to run for President ahead of the 2023 election.
The national leader noted that the group through Kalu’s support navigated the Grassroot communities across the nation to rally votes for the APC President elect.
The statement reads : “Our attention has been drawn to a fake news story flying on social media platforms that Orji Uzor Kalu gave Tinubu only 8000 votes during the Presidential election. That’s an insult to the Distinguished Senator and former Governor who has the capacity to run for President. How can someone who has a national political structure give Tinubu only 8000 votes during the Presidential election? It’s not true
“For the record, we formed a Movement to mobilise support for the former Abia Governor to run for President and we were able to mobilise supporters across all the 36 States of the federation and FCT, Abuja, but when it became clear that our principal is not going to run for President we collapsed our structure for Tinubu and eventually we gave Tinubu over 300,000 votes
“What I am saying is that the political structure of Orji Uzor Kalu cuts across the whole country because he has followers and supporters all over the 36 States and FCT Abuja, so it is wrong to use votes from Abia State and the Southeast geopolitical zone to judge his contribution to the election of Tinubu as President during February Presidential election
Going further the leader described the report as an attempt by Adamu Garba and his pay masters to jeopardize the chances of Orji Uzor Kalu from emerging as the next Senate President in June adding that such attempt will fail because it lacks substance. He called on the leadership of APC and the President Elect Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu to disregard the report in all entirety because it is fake.