A former Member House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has called on the South Eastern part of the country to work towards the proposed alliance between Rabiu Kwankwaso, Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party in order to actualise Igbo Presidency.
Daily Trust had reported how Kwankwaso said his party was discussing a possible coalition with Obi’s Labour Party, in a bid to defeat the two major political parties.
In an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, Jibrin said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had treated the south-east badly, adding that an alliance with NNPP is the best opportunity they have now.
He said for power to return to the South East, the geopolitical zone must support Kwankwaso to emerge as president.
He said, “The South East has been extremely treated badly by the APC and the PDP. For anyone in the south-east, they should be able to see that they don’t have a future in the APC or in the PDP.
“As members of the Labour Party, they should see that the party as it is today cannot propel Peter Obi to the presidency. The only opportunity that they have and which we are offering them is to come [and] do an alliance with NNPP.
“The hope it gives to the South East, which is a tentative hope, is that since the era of Vice-President [Alex] Ekweme, the south-east has never been on the table to discuss the presidency, in real term.”
He continued, “This is the first time they will sit on the table with the NNPP to discuss, sign a concrete agreement that after Kwankwaso, it’s going to be the south-eastern part of the country.
“The fact is that does the Labour Party have a state? No, they don’t even have one. I’m speaking from my own point of view that one of the safest routes for them is to go into alliance with NNPP, for Peter Obi to run as a running mate and after that, the power can go back to the South East”
Jibrin was a Chieftain of APC and Director General of Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign before he defected to the NNPP.
