The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, are mulling over the option of engaging the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi in talks on how to work together to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress.
But Peter Obi’s media aide, Valentine Obienyem, on Friday, June 10, 2022 claimed that his principal was content with being the candidate of the Labour Party.
Obienyem ruled out the possibility, saying that would dash the hopes of many Nigerians and leave them disappointed as Nigerians, including northerners, were desirous of good governance.
He added, “If today he (Obi) says he is going back to the PDP to be a running mate, I can tell you that if he walks on the street, many Nigerians will stone him and they will see him as a disappointment. Nigerians want him and the only thing we can do for him is to encourage him to answer the call of Nigerians. So, he will contest and I’m sure he will win, all things being equal.
“Today, Nigerians want change and Peter Obi has been seen as a symbol of that change, so the issue of structure people talk about does not arise. The last time they asked him about the structure of his party, he said Nigerians across the country were the structure and that is the greatest structure.”
“What is happening in Nigeria today is a peaceful revolution. Nigerians want to break away from the old order. Nigeria is ripe for a peaceful transition and Peter Obi is lucky to be at the forefront of that change.”
In another development, the Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, vowed that the former governor would not step down for any candidate, adding that the candidate and his supporters were focused on the task ahead.
“The support Peter Obi is getting across the country is too massive for anyone to ask him to step down for anyone. Nobody ever thought Obi could leave the PDP, but he left. The real third force is here with us. The coming revolution is beyond Obi. Peter Obi is a man whose time has come. The PDP and the APC have expired. They are no longer relevant in Nigeria’s current situation.”
