The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, will not drop his ambition for that of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Doyin Okupe insists.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar is reportedly planning to meet with NNPP’s Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Peter Obi over a proposed alliance to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu
But Okupe, who is the Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, has stated that the former Anambra State governor is in the race to win.
He stated that Obi and his massive supporters were focused on winning the 2023 general election.
Okupe said: “The support Peter Obi is getting across the country is too massive for anyone to ask him to step down for anyone. Nobody ever thought Obi could leave the PDP, but he left.
“The real third force is here with us. The coming revolution is beyond Obi. Peter Obi is a man whose time has come. The PDP and the APC have expired. They are no longer relevant in Nigeria’s current situation.”
Also speaking on the alleged alliance against Tinubu, Obi’s media aide, Valentine Obienyem, said the 2019 PDP vice-presidential candidate is satisfied in the Labour Party.
He noted that Peter Obi going back to the PDP would dash the hopes of many Nigerians and leave them disappointed.
Obienyem added, “If today he (Obi) says he is going back to the PDP to be a running mate, I can tell you that if he walks on the street, many Nigerians will stone him and they will see him as a disappointment. Nigerians want him and the only thing we can do for him is to encourage him to answer the call of Nigerians. So, he will contest and I’m sure he will win, all things being equal.
“Today, Nigerians want change and Peter Obi has been seen as a symbol of that change, so the issue of structure people talk about does not arise. The last time they asked him about the structure of his party, he said Nigerians across the country were the structure and that is the greatest structure.”
Asked how Obi intends to defeat Atiku and Tinubu, the media aide told PUNCH, “What is happening in Nigeria today is a peaceful revolution. Nigerians want to break away from the old order. Nigeria is ripe for a peaceful transition and Peter Obi is lucky to be at the forefront of that change.”
He stated that Nigerians, including northerners, were desirous of good governance.