AfriqueCAN
THREE opposition candidates in the last election have decided to form an alliance to defeat incumbent president, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress – APC, in 2027.
The candidates, Atiku Abukbakar of the Peoples Democratic Party – PDP, Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party – NNPP, are currently discussing the possibility of a merger to salvage Nigerians from hunger and widespread insecurity, according to a spokesman PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi.
Abdullahi, who made this known on Channels Television on Monday, said that Atiku, Obi and Kwankwanso are willing to put personal interests aside to ensure that Tibubu is defeated in the next presidential election.
“We’ve lost Kwankwaso, we’ve lost Peter Obi, all of these people, imagine if they are in the party, we will have gone to win the elections,’’ Abdullahi said.
“This APC said they defeated us with one million plus (votes), just one of these names that I mentioned would have covered that gap for us and we would have been in power today and certainly Nigerians would not have been confronted with this despair and despondency in the land.”
He said, “We’ve lost Kwankwaso, we’ve lost Peter Obi, all of these people, imagine if they are in the party, we will have gone to win the elections.
‘’You will see Peter Obi discussing with Atiku, you will see Peter Obi meeting with (Nasir) El-Rufai. Party management is a very difficult thing and we are doing the best in the quagmire that we have found ourselves in. Rest assured, there would be light at the end of the tunnel. We have learnt our lessons in a bitter way,” the PDP spokesman added.
“Our concern as a party and to these people that I have mentioned is to ensure that we salvage Nigerians from this despair and despondency, between maladies of hunger and frightening insecurity in the land. You could see cluelessness and ineptitude on the part of these people managing this country.”
He said, “Atiku is saying if it is better for him to get Nigeria out of this hopelessness, he would do so.
“He (Atiku) must not be in the race. Atiku is saying that it is an entitlement to him as a democrat; the constitution provides for him that he could contest at any time.
“What he is trying to say is that (there) is no ceiling stopping him from contesting. That is his fundamental democratic right but he is not saying that he will force it on the throat of the party or the country.
“I am telling you clearly: Peter Obi is suitably qualified; he can aspire and we will support him if he gets the ticket. Atiku is suitably qualified and if he gets the ticket, we will rally behind him and give him the desired support to salvage Nigerians out of this situation.”
