The Labour Party (LP) is happy that Rabiu Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s (NNPP) presidential candidate in 2023, would run with Peter Obi as the LP’s running mate.
According to Naija News, Kwankwaso has indicated his conditional willingness in supporting the former LP candidate as running mate.
Speaking in Hausa, the former Kano State governor stated that he was prepared to take over if “certain conditions are met” in a video that was shared on his official account.
“I’m bigger than Peter Obi politically; I’m his elder brother, I have a PhD, and I performed better than him when I was the governor of my state,” said Kwankwaso, acknowledging his growing political reputation. Deputizing for Peter Obi is fine with me, but only under specific circumstances.
He added, “We are willing to engage in discussions, provided that trust is established,” indicating the prospect of having meaningful conversations with Obi.
In response to Kwankwaso’s remarks in a Punch interview, LP National Secretary Umar Farouk declared that the NNPP icon’s action was a positive step forward.
He also urged to the former Kano governor not to derail the merger talk again with his allegation of being a better politician and owning a higher education degree.
“We have equally given all of our candidates, both past and present, the opportunity to choose how to associate with people of like minds who share the philosophy and ideology of the Labour Party,” he declared. “As a political party, we stand for good governance.”
“We are pleased that Kwankwaso has dismounted from his high horse and is prepared to serve as Obi’s deputy after realizing he received over six million votes in the 2023 election. Kwankwaso was only able to garner less than two million votes despite his alleged popularity in the North.
“Once more, he needs to quit bragging about having a PhD and being a better politician. As the minister of defense, what exactly did he do? For this reason, while advising politicians on how to assess the mood of the people at a given moment, they should always take political dynamics into account.
Naturally, we are aware that events in 2023 will differ from those in 2027. The willingness of Obi and Kwankwaso to work together to overthrow the APC government will be beneficial to the people of Nigeria. However, we are aware that the current administration will not slumber and permit the relaunched initiative to succeed.
