The main Igbo socio-political group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has advised Labour Party(LP) presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, against accepting any deal that would make him a running mate to the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s( NNPP) Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Obi’s popularity would suffer if he accepts to be Kwankwaso’s running partner, according to Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in a statement released on Tuesday.
The statement went on to say that the NNPP-LP merger will boost Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s chances of unseating the current APC in the 2023 presidential election.
“The merging agreements between the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party will improve the possibilities of Obi/ Kwankwaso seizing Aso Rock,” Isiguzoro said in a statement.
“The Labour Party’s headache is never accepting Obi for Vice President; any arrangements that would see Obi as Kwankwaso’s running mate will damage the Labour Party’s appeal. The New Nigeria’s candidate is Mr. Peter Obi, and Kwankwaso is a regional champion who should act as his running mate.
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“Remember that Ohanaeze Ndigbo proclaimed their unconditional support for Peter Obi, the former Governor of Anambra State, in the 2023 Presidential election yesterday. Nigerians are tired of crooked politicians, according to the apex Igbo group, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party remains the country’s sole chance.”
However, the group asked Igbo leaders to openly support Obi’s Labour Party in 2023, claiming that he is the country’s newest political tsunami.
In a statement, Ohanaeze praised Nigerians, particularly the youths, for their recent efforts to eradicate voter apathy and reclaim Nigeria in 2023. The statement, signed by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and made available to journalists in Abakaliki, expressed dissatisfaction with INEC officials and leadership over alleged attempts to disenfranchise Nigerians, particularly Igbos, during the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise.
He lauded Ndigbo to storm all voter registration centres and ensure that they have their voter cards before the deadline, while also urging INEC to extend the PVC exercise until September 30, 2022 to accommodate millions of eligible voters.
