The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has revealed why the Labour Party (LP) cannot win the 2023 presidential election.
Kwankwaso made his opinion known when he appeared on Channels Television programme, Sunday Politics.
Kwankwaso said the LP cannot 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 regions 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, adding 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, however, advised the South East to seize the opportunity presented by the NNPP to produce a vice-presidential candidate since both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have selected their presidential candidates and running mates.
He, however, advised the South East to seize the opportunity presented by the NNPP to produce a vice-presidential candidate since both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have selected their presidential candidates and running mates.
“In PDP, they (South East) are completely out; so also in the APC. The only opportunity now is the NNPP. We are aware that on social media, the young men and women of the Southeast extraction are working towards getting the presidency, but the facts on the ground are that even if the entire zone or any zone in this country decides to vote for a particular person, that person, going by the provision of our constitution can not be president. I think the Constitution is deliberate to ensure that everybody in the country is involved.”
“Today, many people in the Southeast believe that they are being marginalised and it will even be worst if they are not involved in the 2023 project. Labor Party as it stands today can not certainly win an election because the support is mainly from a particular zone and the figures there can not earn anybody a presidential position,” he said.
Kwankwaso said he is sympathetic to the agitations in the South East due to alleged marginalisation, adding that his party is bent on picking a vice-presidential candidate from the region.
NNPP presidential candidate added that the relationship between his party and the LP would allay the tensions in the region, calling on their leaders to ensure that the alliance work.
In his words, “I have many reasons why I, as Rabiu Kwankwaso is sympathetic to South East and I think the relationship between LP and NNPP will cool down a lot of tension in the South East. We don’t want a situation whereby a particular section of the country will feel that it 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, the whole zone is being shut on Mondays; so many people are being killed and so many business opportunities are being wasted.
“That is why I take this opportunity to say that the leaders at that level should think positively so that this marriage can work. And If this marriage doesn’t work, the implication is that his own candidate in the PDP will be the biggest beneficiary because the North today, the way they operate politically is not very clear to many people.”
