Obi Was not Listening To Atiku, Won’t step Down, Says Campaign Council
In the 2019 presidential election, Obi served as the PDP’s running mate for Atiku.
According to the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has not been in contact with Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the election on February 25, 2023.
As the Campaign Council’s Head of Media, Diran Onifade, emphasised in a statement on Wednesday, Obi has no plans to step aside for Atiku.
Prior to this month’s presidential election, Atiku allegedly stated that he was in talks with Obi and the leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The campaign team for Obi, on the other hand, vehemently denied the allegation and maintained that the former governor of Anambra State is running for Aso Rock’s top job in order to win, not to resign.
The message stated, in part, “We have received a flood of inquiries regarding the claim of an ongoing discussion between our presidential ticket and the camp of PDP’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.”
READ ALSO: El-Rufai’s video on Aso Rock elements working against Tinubu is shared by Aisha Buhari
“We want to emphasise that the assertion is completely untrue and without merit, as we have been saying all day. We are not discussing resigning from a contest in which we are the front-runner with Atiku or anyone else.
“Peter Obi is in the race to win in line with the majority of Nigerians’ yearning for a New Nigeria free of deceit, corruption, and self-serving plotting,” says the campaign website.
Prior to the PDP presidential primaries in May last year, when he left the party “based on principles,” Obi was a member of the PDP. Later on, he would win the LP’s presidential primary. Atiku was frequently referred to as Obi’s “older brother” by the PDP candidate who served as Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election.
According to many experts, Obi is a third force opposing Atiku of the PDP and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).