Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State was absent at the rally.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to set aside $10 billion to develop businesses in the South-east.
Atiku stated this on Saturday during the party's campaign rally in Umuahia, Abia State.
"My vice-president(ial candidate) has announced that we are going to set aside $10 billion to make sure that we support businesses, particularly in this part of the country," he told a crowd of Igbos at Umuahia Township Stadium, venue of the rally.
"I remember in 2019 when I came here, I addressed a group of businessmen from the South-east generally because Aba is the capital of the South-east as far as business is concerned," Mr Atiku claimed.
"I remembered I addressed all Igbo businessmen and promised them that I am going to support them and set out a lot of money for the rehabilitation of businesses in Aba. So, it is still there."
The PDP candidate also promised to address "other needs" in the region, such as the rehabilitation of federal roads and provision of railways, if he is elected Nigeria's president in the 25 February poll.
The former Nigeria's vice-president appealed to residents of Abia State not to be "distracted" by other political parties, which he said, are playing either religious and ethnic cards to win elections.
He also urged the residents to remain in the PDP to move the country forward.
"I have seen a number of requests that you people made here and I want to say that they are all legitimate and they fall within our policy which we tagged: 'Our Covenant with Nigerians' meaning our promise to Nigerians.
"We in PDP will be prepared to give Abians what Abians want. It is not an issue of ethnicity, it is not an issue of religion but it is an issue of good governance," Atiku stated.
The PDP candidate restated his resolve to provide an enabling environment for businesses in the state. He recalled that he was part of the team that secured the approval for the Abia Dry Port.
"It will only be my pleasure to make sure that the dry port functions and is operating," he added.
Atiku mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that the Nigeria was much better when the PDP was in power between 1999 and 2015.
Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari, is a member of the APC. Mr Buhari defeated former president, Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, to emerge the country's president in 2015.
"You can all bear witness that when PDP was governing, Nigeria was prospering. That was the time Nigeria became the biggest economy in Africa."
"We created more jobs; we created more prosperity for everybody in this country. We brought about peace and we brought about unity," Atiku claimed.
He urged the people at the rally to vote for the PDP in the 2023 general elections to get the country back on track. He expressed confidence he would win the 25 February poll.
Ikpeazu absent
Despite Atiku's visit, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State was conspicuously absent at the rally.
Although the governor was represented by his deputy, Ude Chukwu, at the rally, observers link his absence to the ongoing row between the G5 governors and the PDP national leadership.
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The G5, a group of aggrieved PDP governors, is being led by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Apart from Messrs Ikpeazu and Wike, other members of the group include Governor Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and their Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.
The group came about after the PDP presidential primary, where Atiku, defeated Mr Wike and others to become the party's presidential candidate.
The group has been demanding the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to pave the way for a southerner to lead the party in order to achieve a "regional balance".
The governors' argument is that Messrs Ayu and Atiku hail from northern Nigeria.
