₦airaland Forum

DenreleDave:
Shut up.. Did he tell u to vote anyone?

All these irrelevant comments

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Iyiochia Ayu, has expressed confidence that the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will, within the next 48 hours, present a running mate Nigerians will relate well with and vote into office.


Ayu gave this assurance in his opening remarks at a meeting with members of the consultative committee set up to assist Atiku choose a running mate.

He explained that the meeting was in furtherance of consultations aimed at arriving at a choice which Nigerians would be glad to elect into office.
Ayu said: “The presidential candidate of our party would have been here, but this morning he suddenly dashed somewhere.
He apologised and if he comes early, he will join us. But we will go ahead with the assignment he has given us.

“The candidate wrote to us, as the administrative arm of the party, on the choice of his running mate.

Various organs of the party are well represented in his committee —NWC, Governors Forum, National Assembly, former governors which have put forward their candidate

“This deliberation will be chaired by my able Deputy, Ambassador Umaru Damagum
I wish you a successful deliberation and I hope you come up with a conclusion between tomorrow and Friday.

“Our presidential candidate, this time, has decided to carry everybody along unlike 2019 when he didn’t consult widely in his choice of running mate.”

The meeting, which is ongoing, has the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Aminu Tambuwal; Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom; former Senate President, David Mark; former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko; former Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, and Senator Philip Aduda among others, in attendance.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given parties till Friday to submit names of their presidential candidates and their running mates.

Xscape1993:
You have failed woefully already. You failed in Oyo state..

Fahdiga:
Any evidence?

Afamed:
Who will form alliance with 5% in the first place. What does 5% have to offer?

triple996:
Yeah with serious voters apathy, mostly only elders voted while the youths were sitting at home. Obi will need more that what east have to offer to stand a chance

triple996:
No election in biafraland

Human rights activist and convener of Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju has advised the presidential candidates of Labour Party, Peter Obi; New Nigeria People’s Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso and African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore to work together ahead of 2023 elections.

He said it is germane for Obi, Kwankwaso, Sowore and other politicians to form an alliance in order to defeat the two prominent parties, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that are fielding Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar respectively.

Adeyanju stressed that it will be a Herculean task for Obi, Kwankwaso, Sowore, and others to defeat Tinubu and Atiku except they form a collaboration.

He also noted that elections are won in villages and not in the towns and cities, adding that the emerging politicians should swallow their pride and work together.
Adeyanju who has also emphasized the importance of political structures at the grassroots said these on Twitter on Monday.

He tweeted: “There’s no way Peter Obi, Kwankwaso, Sowore and other politicians can defeat APC and PDP if they don’t work together because elections are not won in urban areas, but rural areas. Politicians should learn to swallow their pride and work together.
This I must be president by all means is why APC and PDP will continue to humble egoistic political actors. Embrace this truth in the best interest of Nigerians and work together.”

Golan007:
My friend, Obi Ruralised Anambra state.

Professor Charles Soludo.

Someone is showing me pictures of private businesses - if we go that route ordinary Ikotun-Egbe would trounce all of Anambra.

Golan007:
So any paper someone writes is the reality?

Reality3080:
peter obi believes he can press Yoruba mumu button with that not knowing yorubas are wiser

He has even instructed unknown gunmen to seize fire so they can have time for election n when he loses out again they will go back to Biafra or death

Isn’t it funny that nobody is talking about nnamdi kanu again aside his family members,the monikers that use to disturb our peace before are now shouting obi,once he loses out they go back to their propaganda of biafra

I will advise igbos to continue their Biafra cos peter obi won’t win,it would b madness for u to describe Nigeria as a good country now because u are supporting obi n then call Nigeria a zoo when obi loses

The Peoples Democratic Party in the South-East is reaching out to the leadership of the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to ensure that the PDP standard-bearer picks his running mate from the zone, The PUNCH has learnt.

It was gathered that the leadership of the party in the South-East argued that having failed to cede the presidential ticket to the zone, which had consistently supported the PDP since 1999, the only thing left for the party was to cede the vice-presidential slot to it.

Atiku had in May emerged the winner of the PDP presidential primary after defeating other aspirants including a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim and an ex-President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa.

After the PDP primary, the apex socio-cultural organisation for the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, criticised the party for betraying the zone.

A few days to the primary, Atiku’s running mate in 2019, Mr Peter Obi, dumped the party and joined the Labour Party on whose platform he would contest the 2023 presidential election.

There has been growing support for Obi since he joined the LP. Analysts have warned that Obi’s defection to the LP may affect the chances of the PDP in the South-East, where its presidential candidate got 1.6 million votes in 2019 against over 403,000 votes garnered by the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

The Publicity Secretary of the Anambra State PDP, Nnamdi Nwagwu, in an interview with The PUNCH, confirmed that the South-East had demanded the vice-presidential slot like the South-South.


He noted that both the PDP and the APC had sidelined the South-East, adding that it was only in the PDP that the zone could get the VP slot.

He added that only the VP slot could, at least, secure votes for the party in the South-East.

He said, “They (South-East leaders) are making such a demand for the VP slot. Let us see how it goes. They are making the demand because every party has sidelined the South-East and it is only in the PDP that they can get the VP slot because they cannot get it from the APC as the APC already has a southern presidential candidate.

“Only the VP slot can secure votes for the party in the zone, if not, it will be difficult to wrest the votes of the region from Peter Obi. And let us see how it goes if the VP slot will be given or not.”

On its part, the Imo State chapter of the PDP said that it was not perturbed by the growing acceptability of Obi in the South-East.

The Director-General of the New Media of the PDP in the state, Collins Opuruzor, said that the PDP in the region was not worried about Obi’s candidature.

He said that the party was mobilising for the victory of the PDP not only in the South-East but also across the country.


Opuruzor said that the PDP presidential candidate could win the presidential election in 2023.

When contacted, the National Vice-Chairman of the PDP (South-East zone), Chief Ali Odefa, said, “I’m not the National Chairman of the party to comment on this. Contact the National Chairman of the party for this, please.”

But the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologbunagba, in an interview with one of our correspondents, dismissed Obi’s popularity.

On whether the party considered Obi’s growing support as a threat, Ologbunagba said, “When we talk about popularity, that is your assessment and you are entitled to it. When we get to the polls, the popularity will reveal itself.

“We are not talking about somebody’s popularity. That is not what we are talking about. We are focused on our party. That is the important thing. We are focused on what we are doing and what we will do for Nigerians. We are focused on insecurity, our kids being out of school for one year.”

Also, a former presidential aspirant of the PDP, Sam Ohuabunwa, said in picking a running mate, the party would choose somebody who could bring votes.

He stated, “The PDP leadership will do a lot of hard work and will not just focus on dividing the so-called Obi’s votes in the South-East and while he may also have followers outside his region, we are not sure yet. All we see now is social media hype. We cannot be sure until we get to the polls. What we read in the media may not be what happens in real life.”


But the Spokesman, Peter Obi Support Network, Sani Altukry, took a swipe at the PDP.

According to Altukry, the Peter Obi phenomenon is now a national movement and revolution that will bring an end to the PDP and the APC.

He said, “Some say it is a revolution, a present reality that will bring an end to the PDP and the APC as major political parties because they failed to do the right thing.

“They failed to address the yearnings of Nigerians for equity and justice. And they have also failed the youth of this country. The youth yearn for good government, an end to ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike and graduate unemployment. The youth are angry that Nigeria is today the poverty capital of the world because of the PDP and the APC misrule and Peter Obi’s rallying cry to move the country from consumption to production is a rallying cry for hope.”

He added that the ‘Peter Obi Movement’ was also a protest against the injustice meted out to the people of southern Nigeria when the PDP failed to zone the presidency to the South.

“Mark my words, the PDP will receive the shock of its life as its presidential candidate will come second runner-up while Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will emerge as a winner in the 2023 presidential election. It is quite unfortunate that the party lost its followers due to injustice,” he added.

Atiku, PDP leaders


Meanwhile, The PUNCH learnt that Atiku and the PDP leaders would meet on Tuesday (today) to decide on the southern zone the running mate would emerge from.

An Atiku’s loyalist, who disclosed this to one of our correspondents, however, declined to give details of the venue.

The PDP chieftain said, “It is the prerogative of the candidate and the party. We have not arrived at anything; that is the truth. But a decision would be made at the meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday).”

A professor of Political Science at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Emmanuel Onyebuchi, stated that the PDP made a mistake by allowing Obi to exit the party. He said the ex-Anambra governor is so popular that political parties and their presidential candidates could not dismiss his winning capacity as a running mate.

Tinubu

In a related development, a ranking member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Suleiman, has stated that the APC is still in control of Kano State, adding the party and its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will get block votes in the state.

A former Governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, a few months ago, dumped the PDP and joined the New Nigeria People’s Party, where he emerged as the presidential candidate.

Many politicians in the state, including ex-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, have defected from the PDP and the APC to join Kwankwaso in the NNPP

Commenting on the development, Suleiman said, “What people describe as the tsunami of Kwankwaso are just the usual occurrences when elections are approaching. Mind you, those who left our party left because they either lost out at the primaries or they feared that they might lose (election).

“I concede to the fact that Kwankwanso is a household name. He is a politician of repute but I can tell you that the APC is still the party to beat in Kano.”

Speaking on the chances of the APC and Tinubu getting block votes despite the NNPP’s growing popularity, the lawmaker set the condition with which the ruling party would retain the control of Kano.

“If the APC gets its act together very well like it did in the primary and chooses a running mate that is capable of attracting votes for Tinubu and not for any primordial interest, I can tell you that it is a done deal for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

But Ibrahim Adam, the media aide to Kwankwaso, expressed optimism that the NNPP would win the presidential election. Adams, in an interview with The PUNCH, stated, “The APC and the PDP have failed woefully in taking Nigeria to the Promised Land. Based on this conviction, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso dumped the two parties.”

Youths from the North-East on Monday appealed to the leadership of the APC to consider zoning the slot for the running mate to any of the states in their region.


The youths argued that the move was necessary if the APC was serious about its plan to neutralise the threat by the PDP.

This was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the North-East APC Youth Stakeholders Forum, Haruna Sardauna, on Monday.

On its part, the Christian Association of Nigeria (Youth Wing) on Monday protested against the Muslim-Muslim ticket being proposed by the APC.

The President of YOWICAN, Belusochukwu Enwere, told journalists that the call for a Muslim-Muslim ticket by certain individuals was callous and deceptive.

Also, the Ijaw Youth Council said on Monday that it had written to the leading political parties to consider some eligible youths as running mates of their presidential candidates for the forthcoming 2023 general election.

The national spokesman for the IYC, Ebilade Ekerefe, who disclosed this at a press conference to commemorate this year’s Democracy Day in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, listed the youths to include Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda from Borno State, Chief Igho Charles Sanomi (Delta State) and Herbert Wigwe (Rivers State).

He said the three of them were eminently qualified to occupy the vice presidency and contribute to national development, stressing that they were chosen after due consultations by youths from the Niger Delta region and the other five geopolitical zones.

According to him, the leading political parties would benefit from the choice of the suggested three names because “youths have the largest percentage ratio of the electorate and are most affected by the type of leadership produced.”

Ekerefe said, “We have written to leading political parties on the need to allow youthful personalities as vice presidential candidates. We have many youths, including Dr. Ibrahim Bello Dauda from Borno State (APC); Chief Igho Charles Sanomi, a business mogul from Agbor, Delta State; Mr Hebert Wigwe, a CEO of one of Nigeria’s leading banks from Rivers State; young qualified governors, among many others in the country”.

IamWonderful:
There is no need, his vote is useless, even your votes and your entire region votes are useless Mazi okechukwu Bola Ahmed Tinubu the chukwu okike abiama of Igbo land still wins

Penguin2:
Unfortunately, the southeast is not Southwest where people are led by the nose and told to make a particular choice because it’s the best for them.

Here in the East, we make our own choices and damn the consequences.

As you can see from the comments, Umahi is clearly alone. Not a single soul with him.

CockAndBullStor:
Peter Obi can only govern alaigbo, not Nigeria!

Nvestor02:
Instead of you to prove me wrong... You dey publish your stupidity here.

Prove the OP WRONG ABEG.

Cyberterror:
What happened to your princeofLagos moniker?

I want Obi to partake in this election, it will make Atiku very uncomfortable, since south east is the base of PDP. But you see merger, it is too late for that. The only thing Kwankwaso will accept from Peter Obi's camp now is for Peter Obi to become his bItch!

ImmaculateJOE:
Kwankwoso
Buba Marwa
Nuhu Ribadu
Amina Zainab

Mooh247:




Okorocha , Dave Umahi , Ogbonaya Onu and Pius Anyim are the only brave Ibo politicians, the rest are Coward noise making phony characters who are not to be taken seriously


.

Gbengaolowe32:
Imagine how Peter Obi is claiming to be saint and talking like 5years old boy to fool his gullible followers. I reject to be fool by any politician again. Buhari did more than this and claim not to have money to buy ticket and all but look at him today. I can’t be fool into voting people like this again in my life. Tinubu has never for once claim to be saint and everyone can see how he turn things around in Lagos. When was the last time you heard of teacher strike or doctor strike in Lagos that’s One of the prove of good governance. Obi cannot just think presidency will go to unripe and immature part of the country where killing of innocent citizens has become Daily practice.

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, are mulling over the option of engaging the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in talks on how to work together to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Obi, who is a former governor of Anambra State and Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election, and Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, were members of the PDP before they defected to their respective parties to actualise their presidential ambitions.

Findings by Saturday PUNCH, however, revealed that the PDP was considering how to enlist their support and form a formidable team to defeat the candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Meanwhile, in the APC, among other qualified persons being considered as Tinubu’s running mate are Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, both of whom are prominent northern Christians.

While efforts are on to avoid a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the party is also said to be considering Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who is a strong northerner, but a Muslim.


In the PDP, however, it is believed that Obi and Kwankwaso’s defections could affect the fortunes of the party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

There are concerns that Obi’s exit will further split the votes of the South, which is the PDP’s stronghold, while Kwankwaso’s exit will have a similar effect in the North, especially Kano State, which has bloc votes. If allowed to happen, the party fears it will work in favour of the APC, which already has more states in the North.

Obi, who had obtained the N40m presidential forms of the PDP before he defected, was said to have left the party due to the unfriendliness of one of the governors of the party in the South-South.

Kwankwaso, a former Minister of Defence, was also the foremost leader of the party in Kano State before his defection.

A former National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, told one of our correspondents in an interview that the result of the 2019 presidential election had shown that the PDP needed to get all the votes it could from all the states, especially northern states with higher numbers of voters.

He said, “In Kano State, President (Muhammadu) Buhari won in all the 44 local government areas with 1.4 million votes, while Atiku got 391,593 votes. Though the incumbent governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, won the governorship election on the platform of the APC in 2019, it was a tight race between his party and the PDP. So, the PDP has prospects in the state, which is why it has to do what is necessary to get the maximum possible from the state.

“The 2019 governorship election results, which were a combination of the March 9 election and the March 23 rerun, showed the APC polled 1,033,695 votes, while the PDP scored 1,024,713 votes. With the above analysis, you will see that the PDP will need the cooperation of the two gentlemen to remain popular and win these states.”

However, Secondus refused to comment on what the party and Atiku planned to do to woo the two men, whom he described as “valuable persons” to the party.

The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, also said there were possibilities that votes from the South-East could be split into three with Obi’s candidacy.

“We may have a situation whereby Obi will have some votes from there (South-East), then our party and the APC will get votes as well. We need to work against that. The South-East is our zone and we know the people and the voters there will not abandon us,” he stated.

This, according to findings, is the reason the PDP and Atiku are considering speaking with Obi and Kwankwaso to enlist their support.

A source privy to the planned discussions said, “We will talk to them. The battle ahead is not personal. We need to win the election and rescue the country from the bad governance of the ruling party. Thank God that we have about nine months ahead of us before the conduct of the general elections.

“We have enough time to engage people and solidify whatever agreement we want to propose. We should not allow this opportunity to slip from our hands.”

Atiku still consulting, says aide

When asked to confirm if moves were being made to engage Obi and Kwankwaso in talks, a media consultant to Atiku, Paul Ibe, said in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday that he could not say if such moves were being made, but that since his emergence, the candidate had been consulting stakeholders.

He added, “After he won the primary, he met with other aspirants, PDP governors, former ministers and other stakeholders. In this race, especially when you are contesting against a ruling party, everyone matters. These are extraordinary times and they require extraordinary measures.

“So, there will be alliances and the objective is to kick out the APC that has done nothing than to make Nigerians suffer, promote division and entrench a state of insecurity. But I can’t say if the party is reaching out to them (Obi and Kwankwaso).”

Obi won’t step down, says campaign DG

Meanwhile, when asked if the LP candidate would be favourably disposed to negotiating with the PDP, the Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, vowed that the former governor would not step down for any candidate, adding that the candidate and his supporters were focused on the task ahead.

“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.”

Nigerians’ll be disappointed if Obi returns to PDP, says aide

Also, Obi’s media aide, Valentine Obienyem, told one of our correspondents in an interview on Friday that his principal was content with being the candidate of the Labour Party.

Asked if his principal would be favourably disposed to working with Atiku if approached, Obienyem ruled out the possibility, saying that would dash the hopes of many Nigerians and leave them disappointed.

He 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.”

On how Obi would match Atiku and Tinubu, reputed to be big spenders, the media aide said, “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.”

Asked how Obi would penetrate the North, Obienyem said Nigerians, including northerners, were desirous of good governance and that “what matters is that he has already penetrated the minds of Nigerians all over the country.”

Obi remains Labour Party’s presidential candidate, says Nat’l Sec

The National Secretary of the Labour Party, Mr Umar Ibrahim, said on Friday that Obi remained the party’s presidential candidate and that there was no faction in the party. Ibrahim said this while addressing journalists in Kaduna.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted Ibrahim as saying, “Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, is the authentic presidential candidate of the party, duly elected at a convention organised by the leadership of Mr Julius Abure as the national chairman, supervised and recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission. There is no faction in the LP, but in the imagination of those who are foot soldiers of enemies of Nigeria and Nigerians.

“The leadership and members of the Nigeria Labour Congress have recognised and endorsed the candidacy of Obi.”

I won’t step down for any candidate, says Kwankwaso

Kwankwaso said he was certain of victory over Tinubu and Atiku in 2023 and that he would not step down or withdraw his ambition for any other candidate.

Asked whether he would step down for Atiku, the NNPP candidate said in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, “I won’t be stepping down for anyone; our party is popular across the country and we are sure of victory at the polls.

“Our candidacy is based on capacity and performance. People are looking for those who have done it better in the past, and people who are trusted. Nigerians want someone who can unite Nigeria, improve the educational system and end insecurity.

“We will defeat the two major parties at the polls in 2023. The Kwankwasiyya Movement is very popular, and we will win even in the North-East. I’m happy that the Electoral Bill was signed into law, and that will make it difficult for anyone to rig us out as they have always done. Once there is a free and fair election, it will be difficult for anyone to defeat us.”

Tinubu considers Lalong, El-Rufai, SGF, others

Similarly, the leadership of the APC has commenced the search for Tinubu’s running mate.

A chieftain of the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nigerians were justified to express reservations about a Muslim-Muslim ticket. He, however, cautioned that people should be more concerned about competence rather than religious affiliations.

He said northern governors were working with the party’s National Working Committee to consider a list of options at their disposal, adding, “There is no cause for alarm. We anticipated that things could head this way, but the party is considering some candidates to neutralise the threat of an Atiku presidency.

“The party and the governors are mulling the option of Lalong; Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.”

He added that El-Rufai; Kano State Governor, Abdulahi Ganduje; and Mallam Kashim Ibrahim-Imam were also being considered.

The party’s NWC, led by the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the Progressives Governors’ Forum, led by Bagudu, visited Tinubu barely 24 hours after his emergence as the APC candidate.

PGF to determine Tinubu’s running mate, says TCO

Members of the APC Northern States’ Governors Forum earlier paid a courtesy visit to Tinubu in Asokoro, Abuja. Although details of the closed-door meeting were sketchy, Saturday PUNCH gathered that it might not be unconnected with talks around the running mate and the likelihood of Nigerians rejecting a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

The spokesman for the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Mr Bayo Onanuga, however, told journalists that the candidate already had an arrangement with the Progressives Governors’ Forum to decide his running mate if he emerged as the candidate.

“The vice-president can come from any region and religion, but the PGF is at liberty to pick. The party will look at the chances and decide how it will balance a Muslim from the South, maybe with somebody that comes from the North-East, North-Central or the North-West. That is how it is done. I cannot circumvent the party. The Bagudu-led PGF has the task to pick a competent deputy for him,” Onanuga stated.

PDP intensifies search for Atiku’s running mate

In a related development, there are indications that the PDP is intensifying its search for a running mate for Atiku. The governors being touted for the role are Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

There are also indications that the party has set up a committee comprising the PDP governors, National Working Committee members, former governors and Board of Trustees members with the mandate to pick its vice-presidential candidate.

CAN rejects same religion tickets

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria has warned political parties against a Muslim-Muslim ticket or a Christian-Christian ticket for the presidential election. It said this would be a threat to the peace and unity of the country.

CAN, in a statement by its National Secretary, Joseph Daramola, on Friday, congratulated the candidates, while calling for a balance of religious representation when choosing competent running mates.

The statement added, “The running mate of the APC presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, should be a Christian from the North; Atiku’s running mate should be a Christian from the South, while Obi should choose his among the Muslims from the North.

“Anything contrary to the above means that the leadership of these political parties do not bother about the unity of this entity called Nigeria. Those who are planning a Muslim-Muslim ticket should also find out what was the outcome of the MKO Abiola and (Babagana) Kingibe ticket in 1993. If they try a Muslim-Muslim ticket this time round, the outcome will be worse, because our fault lines are very visible.”

It stressed that the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had further polarised the country by not heeding CAN’s call to overhaul the security architecture and deploy religious and ethnic balance within the security structure of the country.

A professor of Political Science at the Bayero University, Kano, Fage Sanni, told Saturday PUNCH, “I think they have limited chances if they work individually. They can garner a few votes here and there, but if they were to collaborate in any way, they would make more impact.

“Kwankwaso is very strong in the North-West, and Obi in the South-East, they will need someone like Wike in the South-South. If they can come to a meeting point concerning who becomes President of Nigeria, they will be raising their probability of winning at the poll.

“Already, the APC and the PDP are the dominant parties, but with a formidable collaboration, the election will be a three-horse race at the presidential level.”

Also, a professor of Political Science at the Osun State University, Omitola Olumuyiwa, told one of our correspondents on Friday that he had doubts that the candidates would work together.

He added, “All of them have unique strongholds; Kwankwanso will only have votes in some places in the North, maybe in Kano and a few places, because of the Kwankwasiyya movement, but he does not have a national spread.

“Obi is someone to watch out for, but the problem with Obi is that I don’t see people from the South-East voting for him. They are likely to go the way of Atiku. People will look towards Atiku because he has a better chance than Obi. However, the way Obi is going, you will be surprised that people from the South-West, the North and the South-South will vote for him. He is seen as a kind of departure from the norm.”