A former Governor of Kano State and Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has explained why he cannot be running mate to the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in the 2022 general election.
Kwankwaso, who was also a former senator and one-time Minister of Defence, said that it will be difficult for the Northern voters to vote for a presidential candidate from the South-East because they are not comfortable with most of the things happening in the South, especially in the South East.
This was made known by Rabiu Kwankwaso on Sunday night, July 3, 2022, while appearing on a Channels Television Programme, Sunday Politics.
Kwankwaso said that any arrangement that produces the presidential candidate from the South East, the north would not vote for the party, but would rather vote for a northern candidate.
Kwankwaso wants Peter Obi as running mate
Kwankwaso, however, proposed an alliance with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, whom he wants to be his running mate in the poll.
He said, “I believe it is in the interest of Labour Party and the NNPP, and even in the interest of this country … because LP, as it stands today, certainly cannot win election. Yes! It cannot win elections.
“Because mainly, the support is mainly in a particular zone and not spread, and the figures there cannot earn anybody a presidential seat in this country.”
Why Peter Obi should accept to be running mate
Although Kwankwaso is hopeful of an alliance, he explained why he cannot be a running mate to Obi and why the latter should accept the vice-presidential slot.
He said, “The major issue, as it stands today, is the issue of who becomes the president and who becomes the vice president and I believe this is the time really to advise – especially those who are positively behind the candidate of the Labour Party – that for me, I have seen an opportunity for the South East to be relevant in the next dispensation. In PDP, they are completely out, and so in the APC. The only opportunity now is the NNPP.
‘’You see Northern voter is the worst hit on this issue of maladministration in this country, but even under that circumstances, a northern voter believes he is better off under one united Nigeria and now most of the things that are happening in the South, especially in the South-East; people are not comfortable with that and as long as you have somebody from there in any party, it will be very difficult for the northern voters to vote, and that’s the situation now.
‘’And those workers that are in actual sense working against LP, Southeast and so on, what they believe is if you put anybody under this arrangement from that side of the country, the northern voters will not vote. And who would they vote for? Their own candidate in the north.
On whether he can be running mate to Peter Obi, Kwankwaso said, ‘’Ordinarily, I am jobless now. I am not doing any job now. But to become a vice president, if anybody from the Southeast under this circumstance becomes the presidential candidate of our party or any other party, the implication is that because of activities and many other issues that are real on the ground, Northern voters will certainly go for northern candidates in another party.
‘’So the thinking is that is not whether I like it or I don’t like it, the facts remain that everybody will lose. He will lose, I will lose.”