On Thursday, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar opened up about why his Labor opponent Peter Obi left the party last year.
Obi renounced the PDP on May 27, 2022 and joined the LP to fulfill his presidential aspirations.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Abubakar announced that the LP candidate had left the PDP because he feared the demands of the party’s governor.
With 6,984,520 votes, the former vice president was second in the election behind All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while Obi received 6,101,533 votes.
tinub Gained 8,794,726 votes to become the country’s new president.
Abubakar said: “I think Peter was in a hurry. When the campaign started, our PDP governors sat down and said they had to produce presidential and vice presidential candidates, and the chief of staff among them, Peter (Obi), got scared and left.
“I wasn’t afraid. I stood up against the governors. Some of them (the governors) were probably in secondary school or college when we formed the PDP. So, why should I be afraid? So, I stood up and fought them. They fought with I fought, I fought them, I won the primaries.
Also read: ‘Rape of democracy’ – Atiku vows to challenge Tinnub’s election victory in court
“So, if he’s there, there’s nothing stopping him from being a running mate because I have the right to choose whoever I want as my running mate.
“So, on the question of whether I would work with Peter or would he hurt (sabotage) the PDP chances? Well, he did in a way because all the votes he cast were PDP votes in South South and South East. But it is up to God whether he can realize his ambition.
“When Peter decided to leave the PDP and join the Labor Party, I believe we hadn’t started our primary process, so the question of whether he would get the vote did arise.
“Yes, I agree with the fact that he gets our votes from the South East and South South, but that certainly doesn’t make him president. Absolutely not.
“You all know that to be president of this country you need votes from everywhere. But he is welcome to talk to the PDP, and we are ready to talk to him. If he wants to talk to the PDP, whether he is aligned or not, I don’t think we There will be any problems.”
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