Senator Orji Uzo Kalu has lambasted the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and other presidential aspirants from the South West and South South, describing them as greedy politicians without conscience.

Kalu claimed that the gods of Igboland are asking questions, demanding an answer as to why these politicians are allegedly greedy and have no conscience.

The former Abia State Governor said this in an interview with Channels Television on Monday evening.

According to Kalu, had these politicians not been greedy, they would not have entered the race for the presidency come 2023 knowing that with fairness and equity in display, it is the turn of the South East.

“Bola Tinubu was my colleague as governor, if they have conscience, they will not run for president. But they have no conscience.

“Obasanjo was president for eight years, Osinbajo was vice president for eight years and South Easterners have never been president for one year.

READ ALSO: 2023 Presidency: Orji Kalu Blasts Osinbajo, Amaechi, Tinubu, Wike

“How would you sleep if you were in my position? The gods are asking questions in Igbo land, ‘where are these people?’ The gods of the Igboland, they’re asking ‘why would these people come again?’

“And the answer is that they are greedy. They should stop being greedy. And that’s what is killing Nigeria.

“If you work you allow your brother to work; if you rule you allow your brother to rule. I’m being sincere….

“All of them in that list are my friends. My children lived with Tinubu’s wife … so it’s not a new thing to me. I just want people to have conscience before all of us die because we’ll die one day. So they should have conscience,” he said.

Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, has withdrawn from the presidential race in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has returned to work.

Recall that the Northern Solidarity Group had on May 9, presented the APC’s Expression of Interest and Nomination form to the minister to enable him to contest the party’s 2023 presidential primaries.

An official at the ministry who chose to remain anonymous said Sylva withdrew from the race to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his quest to achieve a robust oil sector.

“He promised to consult the leader of the country and his political leaders the day he was presented with the form.

READ ALSO: Sylva, Ayade Pick APC Presidential Forms

“He believes that concentrating on his work will attract more investments for the oil and gas sector.

“He has consulted and he believes that the challenges at the ministry and oil and gas sector are enough issues for him to begin to deal with now than going to pursue presidential ambition at the expense of the nation.

“The oil and gas sector is the mainstay of the economy and it is not like any other ministry somebody can just come in and take over.

“It requires some measures of time for the person to understand what is happening in the system.

“For the interest of the industry and the nation, he has decided to wave that personal ambition to see what he can contribute in the remaining part of President Buhari’s administration.

“The implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 is very critical and he wants to continue to make his own contribution to the day-to-day running of the country and support Mr President for robust achievements,” the official said.

READ ALSO: Petroleum Minister, Sylva, NNPC Boss, Kyari Sabotaging Refineries Investigation, Reps Alleges

Meanwhile, Mr Horatious Egua, Senior Special Assistant to the minister on media, when contacted, confirmed to NAN that the minister was back to work.

Top Nigerian singer Davido has reacted to a viral video where the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ademola Adeleke, vowed to surpass the financial strength of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

While addressing some members of the PDP in Osogbo, Osun State Capital during the weekend, Adeleke had bragged of having enough money both in naira and foreign currencies to win the governorship election.

The PDP candidate boasted that he was more prepared for the 2022 governorship race than in 2018 when Adegboyega Oyetola defeated him.

The PDP candidate in a 55-second video said in Yoruba, “Osun people, you are the ones to decide. If it is about money, I have enough. I came with plenty money. And it is not only naira; I came with dollars, pounds and Euro. This time around in Osun, it is fire for fire.”

READ ALSO: Osun 2022: INEC Releases Final List Of Candidates

Reacting, Davido posted the video on his Insta stories with the caption, “Fire for fire Kpa for Kpa”.

Meanwhile, Governor Gboyega Oyetola Campaign Council has said that Osun was not for sale to the highest bidder in the July 16 governorship election.

The group described the statement as absurd and unacceptable.

A statement by the Director-General of the campaign council, Ajibola Bashiru, on Monday in Osogbo, said that the boast by Adeleke to have enough money – both local and in foreign currencies – to execute his political ambition was embarrassing.

Bashiru said that on daily basis, the PDP candidate was proving to the electorate that he had nothing to offer.

READ ALSO: Osun 2022: I Remain PDP Candidate, Adeleke Insists

“Osun people are not gullible. We have left them in no doubt about the quality of our party, the APC and our administration are made of, including the capacity of our candidate to deliver in the past three and half years.

“We have proved through our inclusive governance strategy that our people are our strength and that we do not take them for granted and we will never take them for granted.

“This explains why in spite of the way the 2018 election went, our administration began infrastructure intervention from Ede, the hometown of the PDP candidate.

“Osun people are enlightened, they know that the state and its citizens are not up for sale to the highest bidder.

“Therefore, the PDP candidate should keep his money. Or better still, he could deploy those resources to establish industries to provide jobs for the people.

“This way, he will also be supporting the present administration’s noticeable efforts in the last three and half years to industrialise the state and change its narrative as a civil service state, to one bubbling with economic activities.

“It is on record that the Oyetola-led administration has since inception taken concrete steps to open up the state for investments, and has been able to attract a number of investments into Osun, contributing to the economic growth of the state.

“We assure the PDP candidate that like the administration did to other players in the private sector, we will provide a level playing ground for his business to thrive and ensure Osun and its people derive maximum benefit from the investment,” he said.

READ ALSO: Osun 2022: ‘Why We Want Gov Oyetola Out Of Office’ -Aregbesola’s Men Write Tinubu

Bashiru also cautioned Adeleke against overheating the polity with his incendiary comments and violent tendencies, wondering what he meant by saying ‘its fire for fire this time around’.

“As a responsible party, we urge Senator Adeleke and his party to embrace peaceful conduct and decorum in their political engagements and electioneering.

“We must avoid any comment or action that can jeopardise the peace and stability of our state,” he said.