The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) said Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso did not join the party because they could not get guarantees about a presidential ticket.
PRP chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, explaining that the former presidential candidates were also concerned about the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) delay in recognising the PRP national executive.
“Well, they had issues about whether the party can guarantee that they emerge as presidential and vice presidential candidates. They had questions about whether we could guarantee that a huge number of places could be made available to them because they are coming in with a movement into our party,” he said on the current affairs show.
“They also had issues with the fact that INEC deliberately refused to upload our new executive, me and my colleagues, for a long time. I think they were right there that it represented some worry that we had a problem with INEC. So they moved on.”
Obi and Kwankwaso, the presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) respectively in the 2023 elections, joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) recently.
The move came a few months after the duo teamed up with the coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
They cited a worsening political climate marked by internal crises, external interference, and growing hostility within party structures.
“Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them,” Obi, who enjoys a large youth following, said.
After they joined the NDC, Kwankwaso said the move was to “provide our people with a credible platform where they can thrive and realise their full potential.
“I therefore call on all our dedicated supporters and well-meaning Nigerians to join the NDC and stand with us in this renewed fight for good governance and true democracy,” Kwankwaso wrote on his X handle after the NDC received them into the party.
Obi got 6.1 million votes, while Kwankwaso scored 1.1 million votes in the 2023 elections.
Despite their failure to join the PRP, Baba-Ahmed asked the opposition to work together.
“We will work together, because I believe that somewhere along the line, all the parties eventually have to pull their energies and resources together,” he said.
