The presidential aspirant of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has said former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, would have been his running mate if the latter had joined NNPP instead of the Labour Party.
The former Kano State governor stated this on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, on Monday.
WITHIN NIGERIA had reported that Obi emerged the Labour Party’s flagbearer for the 2023 presidential election on Monday after defecting from the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party.
Kwankwaso, who said the party would hold its presidential primary next week, even though he was the only aspirant, added that the NNPP would shop for a popular vice-presidential candidate from the South after its national convention.
When asked about the reports that Obi was to continue his presidential race on the platform of the NNPC after quitting the PDP, Kwankwaso said, “Actually we had opportunities to talk to ourselves on many national issues, until few days to the time when he declared for the Labour Party, of which he is now the presidential candidate. I wish him well and I wish all other presidential candidates well. I’m sure all these would be decide by the electorate across the country who are going to vote on the 25th of February, 2023.”
Speaking on Obi being his running mate, Kwankwaso said, “Yes, many people suggested that. I believe it could have been possible if not because he joined another party. Now, he is a (presidential) candidate as we have seen from the news just now. We look forwards to seeing what happens in the next few days or weeks.”
On picking a running mate from the South-East, he said, “We are not there yet. After the convention (of the NNPP), then the party would sit down and look around and see if we can have a very good, credible somebody who is acceptable, somebody who can bring as many people as possible to come and vote for our party as the Vice-President of the NNPC from the Southern part of the country.”
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