The Labour Party (LP) has reacted to the possibility of the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, being the running mate to Peter Obi.
Recall that Kwankwaso recently expressed his conditional interest to serve as running mate to the former LP flag bearer.
The former governor of Kano State, who spoke in Hausa, expressed his readiness via a circulated video on his official account provided ‘certain conditions are met.’
Kwankwaso, who acknowledged his rising political profile stated, “I’m bigger than Peter Obi politically; I’m his elder brother, I’m a PhD holder, I performed better than him when I was the governor of my state. I’ve no problem with deputising for Peter Obi, but only if certain conditions are met.”
He further expressed the possibility of engaging in meaningful discussions with Obi, noting, “We are willing to engage in discussions, provided that trust is established.”
Reacting to Kwankwaso’s statement during an interview with Punch, the National Secretary of LP, Umar Farouk, said that the move by NNPP stalwart was a welcome development.
He also appealed to the former Kano governor not to kill the merger talk again with his insinuation of being a better politician and holding a higher education degree.
He said, “As a political party, we stand for good governance and we have equally given all our candidates, both former and serving ones, the opportunity to choose how to associate with people of like-minds who share the philosophy and ideology of the Labour Party.
“We are happy Kwankwaso has alighted from the high horse he was riding and willing to offer himself to Obi as deputy having seen he garnered more than six million votes at the 2023 election. With his so-called popularity in the North, Kwankwaso could only amass less than two million votes.
“Again, he should stop this talk of being a bigger politician and PhD holder. What did he even do as a minister of defence? This is why we advise politicians to always consider the dynamics of politics to gauge the temperament of the electorate at a particular time.
“Of course, we know what played out in 2023 will be different from 2027. It will be in the interest of Nigerians if Obi and Kwankwaso are willing to come together and wrest power from the APC government. But again, we know the sitting government will not go to sleep and allow the renewed move to work.”
