Why partnership talks with Peter Obi failed – Kwankwaso

New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso has revealed the reason for the failure of alliance between his party and Peter Obi’s Labour Party (LP).

Nigerians had on several occasions hoped for a formidable alliance between the two parties in order to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The suggestion was rooted in the sudden mass support garnered by the two, especially Peter Obi, from young Nigerians in most parts of the country.

Although both parties had been long on Nigeria’s ballot, they both did not make any significant mark in elections since they were registered.

The former Kano State governor had also attributed the failure of the alliance to the inability of the two parties to agree on key points.

While speaking in a meeting with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Lagos last year, Kwankwanso said there was an issue regarding who the presidential candidate would be.

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He said: “I thought the alliance would be good. If we had done that nobody would be talking about a second ballot in 2023. At our discussions, the issue was who will be the presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate. Both parties raised negotiation committees.”

However, in a tweet on Wednesday, the former Kano State governor said the alliance stalled because the Labour Party had been at the peak of media popularity.

He insisted his party would command national support and win in the forthcoming elections.

“On Labour Party, I was initially interested in working with them, but at that time, they were at the peak of the media hype and we couldn’t reach a compromise. Our party (NNPP) is a National Party, and we’re commanding the support of the masses”, the tweet read.

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has rejected notions that he might consider withdrawing from the presidential race, in favour of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

In response to a question by a member of the audience who drew similarities to NNPP and LP’s campaign manifestos, the former Kano State Governor revealed that his antecedents were superior compared to his LP counterpart.

Kwankwaso further noted that the NNPP had widespread support amongst the grassroots and would succeed in garnering votes, especially from the Northern part of the country while making gradual inroads into the South.

He said, “We want a united country as my legacy; a country whereby everyone is given an opportunity based on the content of his character instead of religion or ethnicity.