Former Imo State governor and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rochas Okorocha, has said his political ambition will sell better in Northern Nigeria than any other part of the country.
Okorocha said this while speaking on issues surrounding the ruling APC’s presidential primary.
The former governor who is facing 17-count charges for allegedly diverting funds from the Imo State Government House and local government joint accounts to private companies between 2014 and 2016, almost missed the APC screening of presidential aspirants.
After being granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, Okorocha headed for the venue where the screening took place.
About his eligibility to emerge as the APC presidential candidate, Okorocha said, “The question now is: who is that man that can pull the same votes like Buhari to be able to defeat this person? That is what should preoccupy APC’s mind. And anything aside that goes with sentiments is a failure on our side. And that is what we should know, who is that Nigerian that can catch the number of votes from the North because the only thing the PDP is priding themselves now is to pull the votes from the North. That is the truth.
“And you might not have President Buhari to run the election again because most people that won the APC ticket in the North got it because of President Muhammadu Buhari. And as a president who has been for eight years, with his challenges, he might not be able to pull those votes anymore, neither is he running the elections anymore, so you have a challenge. So, you have to look for who is that man that the North can look at and give him votes?
“And I think I am that person because I am more acceptable in the North than anywhere. I am a darling of the North.”
Okorocha, who is the senator for Imo West, was arrested by the EFCC operatives at his Abuja residence on May 25.
