The only condition that will make Peter Obi dump LP, return to PDP revealed
Akin Osuntokun, an ex-Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, has stated that the sole circumstance under which the LPās presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, would contemplate rejoining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is if he were guaranteed the presidential ticket.
Recently, Atiku Abubakar, the PDPās 2023 presidential candidate, expressed his willingness to endorse Obi if, in 2027, the party selects him as the South-Eastās candidate, signaling a potential alliance.
Atiku during a recent interview with BBC Hausa Service, said: āI have said repeatedly and I even said it before the 2023 general elections that if the PDP decides to zone the presidential ticket to the South or South-East specifically, I wonāt contest it. As long as itās the decision of the party, I will abide by it. But I contested the 2023 presidential ticket because it was thrown open to all members of the party.
āIf the party decides that itās the turn of the South-East and Peter Obi is chosen, I wonāt hesitate to support him.ā
Responding to the development, Osuntokun said, āPeter Obi going back to the PDP would have to depend on the circumstances and the assurances from the political godfathers of the PDP. The thing is that itās unrealistic to expect someone who has run for the president to now accept to be a running mate for whoever assumes the superior position.
āThatās because Obi has a unique political appeal among Nigerians. If itās possible to do it like the way they do in the United States by analyzing the demographic groups that support each candidate, we would find a situation in which Obi carried about 90 per cent of the youth population. And if he chooses to be a running mate, those people are going to be disappointed and offended.
āThe only way that Peter Obi could consider returning to the PDP is if he would be given the partyās presidential ticket. Otherwise, he would not embark on a futile exercise. Because if he becomes a running mate in PDP, he will lose a lot of his support. He would be demonized as a sellout.
āSo I canāt see the point of his going back to the PDP other than being its presidential candidate.ā