The Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation and a former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe, has revealed that the meger talks between the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has broken down.
Okupe who spoke with the Channels TV on Tuesday, monitored by the New Diplomat said the meger talk has been long ‘dead’ for about four weeks ago.
Speaking on the reason why the talks broke down, Okupe revealed that the NNPP presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso remained firm on not bowing his presidential ambition to take up the running mate ticket in the planned alliance.
According to him, the two parties failed to reach agreement on who to fly the presidential ticket and the running mate ticket in the meger talks.
In his words, “The Labour Party and its presidential candidate have long since withdrawn from that conversation (merger). It was NNPP that continued to try to benefit from the traction of the popularity of Obi.
“I am now an elder stateman and out of maturity, I decided that we will not take them on media-wise, so we kept quiet. But they kept going on, going on, going on. The talks about the alliance have been dead for over four weeks. I am telling you, I am the leader of the team that went to discuss with Kwankwaso, and it was dead. We were deadlocked.
“The moment I asked them one single question. I said, is it fair?, do you consider it appropriate and okay for a President of Northern extraction and a Muslim to finish eight years and another northerner, a Muslim northerner from the next state, in the same zone to take over for him. And the three of them unanimously said oh, there’s nothing wrong with that. As far as I’m concerned, the discussion was over. And it has remain over since then. But we did not come to media, because I respected who we were discussing with, you know, I never said anything. I’ve never mentioned anything public, this the first time I’m publicly commented on the matter.”
Speaking further, Okupe said Obi the most qualified to become the next President of the country. He explained that Obi has the pedigree and the solutions to the problems facing Nigeria.
According to him, Kwankwaso has been going around is relying on his political experiences without proscribing solutions to the problems of the country.
“How do you measure seniority in politics? Is it age or the length of time you have been in politics? I have been politics for 42 years. I have a pedigree that can compete with anybody in this country. I am knowledgeable, I have an above average intellect for the fact. And I was also wanted to be president, but I looked introspectively. What I wanted to do was to help to change the country and I saw a better, man. What has age got go do with it? I mean, between Peter Obi and myself is almost 10 years. I am senior to him in age, senior tp him in politics, I have been in politics while he was still in abroad doing his business.
“But that is not the issue right now. The issue is who can fix this country at this moment. So when I felt that even though I have the desire, I have the zeal, but I saw a better person that can do it and I decided to withdraw. What Kwankwaso is delving in and relying on that he has been a speaker of the House of Assembly, he has been a senator, he has been governor for eight years, that doesn’t answer the question the young Nigerians are asking.
“Young Nigerians are saying our future is in dire straits, we need a man that can put his hands on the table and drag the country in the right direction. Kwankwaso has nothing in his background that convinces anybody that he can match Peter Obi. So, it is not a matter of seniority, it is a matter of capability,” he added.
