Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, declared on Thursday that Peter Obi, the counterpart from the Labour Party, should not be running for president.
This was stated by Atiku while he was addressing a press conference in Abuja. He insisted that he remained the stepping stone for the Igbo’s desire to elect a president of Nigeria.
He stated, “When I ran in 2019, I chose an Igbo man as my running mate simply because I believed that South-East must be the next zone after any other zone again.” Another Igbo man was also chosen by me in 2011. I also selected another Igbo man in 2023. Additionally, I have consistently stated that I will serve as a bridge to an Igbo presidency.
“Because there is no region in this nation that can independently produce a president. My Igbo neighbors have always heard me say that you don’t fight for power; you negotiate it.
Therefore, I believe Peter (Obi) was in a rush for anyone to believe that I have anything against the Labour Party. Why do I say he was hurried, you ask? Peter left out of fear when the campaign and our PDP governors sat down and said they had to choose the next president, vice president, and chief of staff. I did not become afraid. I fought the governors and won the primaries because I stood up to them. If he had been there, nothing would have stopped him from becoming a running mate.
Atiku went on to say that Obi “wounded” his victory in the election by stealing votes from the South-East and South-South.
Additionally, he stated that if Obi agreed, his party was prepared to form an alliance with the LP.
“The question of whether or not I will collaborate with Peter, or whether or not Peter caused harm to the PDP; Yes, to a certain extent, he did, as all of his votes in the South-South and South-East were for the PDP.
Agreed—despite the fact that he received our votes from the South-East and South-South, this does not, of course, make him president. You are all aware that you need the votes of everyone in this country to become president. Therefore, in my opinion, Peter is welcome to engage in conversation with the PDP. “We are prepared to engage in conversation with him.” We won’t have any issues, I think, if he wants to talk to the PDP about forming an alliance or not.”