Obi, Kwankwaso is not stepping down for Atiku – Partying

Labor Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party on Wednesday said their presidential candidates will not stand down ahead of their Peoples Democratic Party counterpart Atiku Abubakar.

The two opposition parties said this when the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council advised the LP banner bearer, Peter Obi and his NNPP counterpart, Rabiu Kwankwaso, not to trust Atiku.

The PCC warning followed claims by the PDP presidential candidate that he was in talks with Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the February 25 poll.

Atiku revealed in an interview with the BBC Hausa that talks were underway between him and the LP and NNPP candidates.

But the former vice president did not disclose the nature of the talks or the terms of the deal, if any.

However, APC Campaign Council spokesman Festus Keyamo commented on the reported talks and urged Nigerians to ignore the former vice president, describing him as a man whom even the leaders of his own party cannot be trusted.

During a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Wednesday, Keyamo said: “Atiku is lying; he is not talking to anyone. Atiku can’t be trusted and that’s why he can’t keep his company together.

“He has not been able to reach an agreement with the aggrieved leaders of his party because those leaders know he will not keep his word.”

“Kwankwaso left PDP because he was humiliated in the Northwest. The PDP mistreated Peter Obi and the man left. These are the men Atiku gives the impression that they are ready to work with him. They’re all lies,” he insisted.

The Director General of the LP Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Oshuntokun, in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja on Wednesday said Obi had no intention of making a deal with Atiku except that the latter agreed to step down for the former governor of Anambra state.

Asked to speak about the said discussions, the DG simply asked, “How is that possible? With what purpose? Is Obi coming to support a ticket, is it a fundamental threat to Nigeria’s national unity?

“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is welcome to relinquish his ticket and throw his considerable political weight behind us. No individual ambition should override the North/South Rotation Convention, especially against the background of the damage the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has done to the unity of Nigeria through his apartheid-style nepotism.”

LP PCC spokesperson Kenneth Okonkwo rejected Atiku’s overtures to Obi, tweeting, “Glad to hear that Atiku is considering stepping down for Peter Obi in the presidential race.

“Following Atiku’s admission of using Special Purpose Vehicles to siphon Nigeria’s money, this is the wisest thing he can do according to Michael Achimugu. That’s the only way they talk, he initiates, that can make sense.

“Please ignore any other claims made by the lying PDP as the only honorable thing Atiku can do is an unconditional resignation for Peter Obi to usher in a new Nigeria.”

Similarly, the NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Major Agbor, urged Atiku to join the Kwankwaso train, saying, “He is not on the ground. He’s the one stepping down for our candidate, not the other way around. There are talks and there would be no talks in this direction unless the former vice president expresses his support for Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso.”

But Atiku’s Special Adviser on Media, Mazi Paul Ibe, told The PUNCH that the PDP’s standard-bearer had repeatedly reiterated his commitment to form a government of national unity, emphasizing that this may have signaled his decision to engage in a widely supported conversation with the other participants.

He argued that both Obi and Kwankwaso would have no influence as they would receive only marginal votes in the February 25 presidential election.

Asked if the PDP candidate would seek the support of the two former governors should a runoff become inevitable; Ibe confidently declared that Atiku “will fly to victory on the first ballot.”