2023: Peter Obi opens up after surprise appearance at Atiku’s presidential declaration event

The presence of Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra at the occasion of Atiku Abubakar’s presidential declaration in Abuja on Wednesday, March 23, was a surprise to a lot of attendees.

But speaking with journalists at the event, the former vice presidential candidate who was a running mate to Atiku noted that politics is a relationship, not war.

The former governor noted that he was at the event because Atiku invited him, an honour he cannot turn down following a very cordial relationship.

He said:“The reason why I am here is that this is new, as you know I play politics differently and to me, politics is not a war, it is a relationship and Atiku is my leader, he is my boss, he is a senior brother.

“If he invites me for anything I will attend, aspiring for anything does not say I should not keep my relationship that is very cordial and everything.”

Obi admitted that although he is also aspiring to become Nigeria’s next president, he sees Atiku as someone who sincerely has the interest of the country at heart.

He said:“I am aspiring but remember I always say it Atiku Is a unifier, he believes in Nigeria, he is a good man and every time he invites me for anything I will be there; that notwithstanding I am aspiring I want to serve Nigeria.”

The Anambra State former governor had earlier said that he is not preoccupied with how to win political elections in 2023, rather he is thinking about a better Nigeria.

The former vice presidential candidate said that he wants to see a Nigerian society where all the sectors of the economy are functioning effectively.

Obi explained that a functioning economy would liberate the people from the shackles of underdevelopment and poverty which has sent most Nigerians to their early graves.

He said:“Nigerians are always preoccupied by elections, I am not that type of politician. Politics for me is not about winning elections and being in office. For me, it is about building a better society. We are in a society where people don’t know where the next meal will come from but we are not discussing that.

We are in a society today where poor businesses cannot get diesel to do their businesses, unfortunately, nobody is discussing that. We are in a society where our universities have been shut down for months, nobody is discussing that. These are the things I want to discuss, not 2023 elections.

“Elections can come when we have dealt with the issues that are bewildering us. I want to see our universities functional and our children back to classrooms. I want to see food on the tables of poor people in the villages. I want to see steady power supply so that our businesses can thrive.”

Meanwhile, former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will on Wednesday, March 23, for the fifth time since 1999 and sixth in total, declare his intention to contest for the presidency of the country, hence emerging as the most serial presidential contestant in Nigeria’s history.

The former vice president will by his declaration in Abuja beat the record of President Muhammadu Buhari who started vying for the presidency from 2003 till he won in 2015 on his fourth attempt,securing a second term in 2019 on his fifth.

But Atiku Abubakar, who has unsuccessfully contested five presidential elections in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, would declare for the presidency by 2023 by tomorrow, making it the sixth time, Leadership reports.

Atiku’s formal declaration today comes amid debate over which region PDP should zone its presidential ticket to.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who comes closest to Atiku in serial running for president (five times), won on his fourth attempt in 2015, dethroning the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.He was re-elected for a second term in 2019.