By Abiola Olawale
Dumebi Kachikwu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan is allegedly attempting to sway Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, to abandon his 2027 presidential ambition.
According to Kachikwu, Jonathan has allegedly dangled the position of Coordinating Minister of the Economy as an incentive for Obi to step back and support his potential bid for the presidency.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Kachikwu alleged that Jonathan’s move is part of a broader strategy by Northern political elites to weaken Southern influence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said: “To weaken the South, they have now drafted in former President Jonathan into the race who is alleged to be offering Peter Obi the position of Coordinating Minister of the Economy for him to support his ambition.
“Peter Obi has been told in very clear terms that he will never get northern votes as an Ibo man, and as such, he should accept to be Atiku’s running mate.
He also accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, along with certain Northern elites, of retaining political power for decades without addressing the region’s high levels of illiteracy and poverty.
“They use the weapons of region, religion, tongue, tribe, and poverty as they convince millions of poor Northerners that a southern President Tinubu hates them and is the cause of their poverty.
“We don’t burn our houses because we want to kill rats and cockroaches; sometimes we just need to make our houses clean so that rats and cockroaches leave on their own.
“My earnest prayer is that Nigeria will soon work for everyone of us,” Kachikwu added.
