2023: Kwankwaso Accuses Peter Obi Of Working With Atiku’s Crony To Ruin NNPP’s Chances

— Labour Party Will Lose If I Accept To Be Peter Obi’s Running Mate

— NNPP Only Option Left For S/East To Gain Relevance, Says Kwankwaso

Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has accused his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, of fraternizing with a close associate of Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate to ruin NNPP’s chances in the 2023 election.

This, Kwankwaso claimed, is responsible for the delay in the NNPP and the Labour Party reaching a conclusion on both parties’ ongoing talks to form an alliance against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP, which are the two leading political parties in the country.

The NNPP presidential standard-bearer stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics’, monitored by THE WHISTLER.

Kwankwaso claimed that a competent source within the ranks of the Labour Party informed him that Obi is discussing with a leader of the PDP and Atiku’s crony, whose objective is allegedly to dissuade Obi from entering into an alliance with him in other to weaken NNPP’s chances at the 2023 polls.

While noting that he was still open to meeting Obi to possibly get him to agree to be his running mate, the former Kano State Governor said he was worried about the alleged development in the LP candidate’s camp.

“I believe that it is likely that we are going to meet and discuss the issue of coming together to work as a family so that Nigerians will have an alternative to the PDP and of course the APC.

“I believe that it will happen but I believe also that there are some challenges that we are having, especially from the side of the Labour Party itself because there are so many influences, some positive and even the negative sides.

“We have a situation today where there are some people who are in other parties who are also influencing the decision of that party (Labour Party) which I believe is not good for the party. I am just reading on social media and even from people very close to the party that the presidential candidate (Obi) is very close to one of the leaders of the PDP which we are trying to verify. But I think the source is very genuine that he (Obi) is in contact with him (the PDP leader), while he (the PDP leader) is in the PDP supporting the presidential candidate from the north in that the party (Atiku), and of course he is saying that the presidency must go to the south in the other party (Labour Party) that is in our alliance. And that is really (aimed at) weakening our own party,” claimed Kwankwaso.

While refusing to mention the name of the PDP leader allegedly in bed with Obi, Kwankwaso suggested that the person is a northern politician ‘pretending’ to be in support of the South East to produce the country’s next president.

“You know in this part of the country (North), we have the person the people are talking about in the social media, who pretends to be very close to Peter Obi himself, while everybody knows he has a political party (and) he is promoting the person in the political party in the PDP, yet pretending to say, ‘look we want the president to come from the South East.’

“You see the idea is, if this marriage works, with Obi as the presidential candidate, the implication is that his own candidate in the PDP will be the biggest beneficiary because the way the North operates politically is not very clear to many people.”

The NNPP and the Labour were earlier reported to have set up a joint committee to work out the alliance between Kwankwaso and Obi.

The committee was also said to have submitted its report in June for consideration of both camps.

— Obi ‘Certainly Cannot Win’ 2023 Presidency As LP Candidate —

Kwankwaso, during the interview with Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV, said he has yet to meet and discuss one on one with Obi in order to finalize the proposed alliance.

He said the issue of who should be the presidential and vice-presidential candidate has delayed the process, adding that the South East stands a chance of becoming ‘relevant’ in the next administration because Obi’s Labourt Party “certainly cannot win election” on its own.

“…I believe this is the time to really advise especially those people who are positively behind the candidate of the Labour Party that for me, I have seen an opportunity of the South East to be relevant in the next dispensation.

“In the PDP, they (Obi and his supporters) are completely out, so also in the APC. The only opportunity now is the NNPP. Now we are aware that in social media a lot of work is going on, a lot of young men and women, especially of the South East extraction, are working toward getting the presidency.

“But the fact remains on the ground, that even if the entire zone (or) any zone in the country, decides to vote for a particular person, that person, going by our constitution cannot be president. And I think the constitution was deliberate to ensure that everybody was involved in the country. And I believe that it is in the interest of the Labour Party and the NNPP and even in the interest of this country. Because we have seen a situation today where many people believe that they are being marginalized and it would be worse actually if they are not involved in the 2023 project because LP (Labour Party) as it stands today certainly cannot win election.

“Well, (this is) mainly because the support is from a particular zone, there’s just not spread and the figure there cannot earn anybody presidential seat in this country.

“I have many reasons why I personally as Rabiu Kwankwaso is sympathetic to the South East. And I think the relationship between the NNPP and the LAbour Party will put down a lot of issues in the South East as it stands today, because that is the only way the South East can remain relevant. You don’t want a situation where a particular section of this country would feel that is being marginalized and already, we have a lot of tension there and this tension is not good for the South East and for the country.

“We have a situation today in this country, where in that part of the country, on Mondays the whole zone is being shut. A lot of people are being killed and a lot of businesses are being wasted. And that is why I take this opportunity to say that the leaders at that level should think positively so that this marriage can work,” he said.

— ‘Nobody From South East Can Win 2023 Presidency’ —

Kwankwaso added that while the northern voters may be the worst hit by the alleged maladministration of President Buhari, people from the North would always prefer to vote for an aspirant from the region than any other region.

“You see, the northern voter is the worst hit under this issue of maladministration in this country, but even under that circumstance a northern voter also believes that he is better with one united Nigeria and therefore, most of the things that are happening in the South East, he would not be comfortable with that. As long as you have somebody from there in any party, it would be very difficult for the northern voters to vote (for such a person).

“That is the situation now. And those working against the LP and South East, what they believe is that if you put anybody under this arrangement from that side of the country, the northern voters would not vote and who would they vote? Their candidate from the North.

When pressed further on the possibility of him agreeing to be Obi’s running mate, Kwankwaso said: “Ordinarily now I am jobless…but what I am telling you is that if anybody from the South East now, under this circumstance, becomes the presidential candidate of our party or any other party, the implication is that, because of the activities (in the region) and many other issues that are real on the ground, northern voters will certainly go for their northern candidate in another party. It is not whether I like it or I don’t like it, the fact remains that he (Obi) will lose and I will lose.”