The National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has stated why the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, should agree to be the running mate to Peter Obi.
Kwankwaso had said during an interview with Channels TV that the LP does not stand the chance to win the 2023 presidential election because it does not have a mass appeal and nationwide structure.
The former Governor of Kano State claimed that the party only enjoys support from the South East, which is one out of the six geopolitical zones in the country.
Kwankwaso stated that votes cast by the people of the South East for the LP candidate, Peter Obi, would not be enough to make him the next President. He added that the constitution states that a candidate needs an overall majority and at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the states.
He told The Punch, the LP national chairman advised Kwankwaso to accept to be Obi’s running mate in his own interest, adding that the former Kano Governor cannot win the 2023 presidential election.
Abere stated that Obi has the best credentials out of all the various flagbearers in the 2023 presidential race, adding that the former Anambra governor is the man of the moment and the most popular in the country right now.
He stated that the current mood of the country does not favour Kwankwaso because the NNPP presidential candidate is also from North West like President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said, “The truth of the matter is that it is in his (Kwankwaso’s) own interest for him to take the Vice Presidency.
“When you look at fairness and equity, it doesn’t favour Kwankwaso, the mood of the country as it stands does not favour Kwankwaso. The late President Musa Yar’adua was from the North West, and the current President, Muhammadu Buhari, is from the North West, Nigerians will not accept another person from the North West.
“These are factors that come to play and I don’t think we should be arrogant about it.”