Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has declared that the South-East region will not vote for the presidential candidate of Labour Party(LP) Peter Obi in 2023.

Ekweremadu, in the now-viral undated video seen by The Nation, said the South East cannot take the risk of voting for Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election.

He stated the region will rather vote for the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and support the PDP because its vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa is from the region.

Although his comments drew widespread reactions, many youths especially on social media believe that Obi is a Third Force to end the popularity of APC and PDP in 2023.

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Ekweremadu said: “I assure you that South East will vote for the People Democratic Party (PDP). I can guarantee that. No doubt Peter Obi is our son, but you need to be dynamic.

“You need to ask yourself, can Peter win the presidential election? Can the East afford to throw away their votes? Can we afford to be sentimental in matters that concern our people, our children, and our future? No”

“We do not intend to do a thing which we will regret in future. So, while we believe that Peter is ably qualified, we believe that the future of our people lies with PDP. So, we need to make that decision as the leaders. I am going to sit with our people and explain to them.”

“Okowa, of course, is one of us, so there is no difference between Okowa and Peter in terms of protecting the interest of the South. So, we will go and give the people of the South East that opportunity.”