The Leader of the Southeast NDC House of Assembly Caucus, Hon. Barr. Jude Umennajiego, has responded to recent remarks by former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, in which he described Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, as a “regional champion” who cannot become Nigeria’s President.
Reacting to the statement, Umennajiego described Melaye’s comments as a gross misrepresentation of the facts and an attempt to diminish Peter Obi’s national political appeal.
According to him, the outcome of the 2023 presidential election clearly contradicts Melaye’s assertion. He noted that while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu secured victory in a number of states in the south west and some northern state, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whom Melaye supports, won only some states in the north and south south, Peter Obi recorded victories across multiple geopolitical zones. He said Obi won the Southeast, parts of the South-South, Plateau, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory in the North-Central, as well as Lagos in the South-West.
Umennajiego further argued that Abuja and Lagos remain Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan territories, being home to virtually every ethnic nationality in the country, including the Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Tiv, Idoma and several others. According to him, any presidential candidate who emerges victorious in both Abuja and Lagos has demonstrated broad national acceptance that transcends ethnic and regional boundaries.
He maintained that describing a candidate who secured victories across different regions of the country as merely a “regional champion” is a deliberate attempt to downplay Peter Obi’s growing national influence, while portraying Atiku Abubakar; who has contested for the presidency since 1993 under different political circumstances as a nationalist.
The Southeast Caucus leader cautioned Dino Melaye against what he described as mischievous and misleading attacks on Peter Obi, urging him to refrain from making statements capable of distorting the political realities of the 2023 general election.
He concluded by describing Peter Obi as one of the most widely accepted presidential figures in Nigeria today and expressed confidence that Obi remains a symbol of hope for a new and better Nigeria.
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