The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has said he will accept any merger if is to better Nigeria and govern properly.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) said Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Obi were united by their mutual desperation to be "President of Nigeria and ignoble disdain for President Bola Tinubu's focused and extraordinary commitment" to the transformation of the nation.
Atiku was the presidential candidate of the PDP in the last election. Both Obi and Atiku lost the election to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former Vice President, had recently while speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, declared that if in 2027, his party, the PDP decided that it was the southeast’s turn and picked Obi as its candidate, he (Atiku) would readily offer his support.
The former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Akin Osuntokun, has also said that if Obi would return to the PDP, it would depend on the circumstances, adding that with his large support base in the last general elections, the only chance of him accepting to join the PDP was if he would be offered the party’s presidential ticket.
While speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, Atiku said he would support anyone chosen to represent the PDP in 2027, even if the candidate is from the south-east.
However, while speaking during an interview with NoireTV over the weekend, Obi stressed that such a merger must be centred on improving governance and aiding the poor, rather than merely aiming to win elections or gain state control.
He said; “I commend Atiku for his statement, especially where he said he will support me if it goes to the South East.
“On the issue of a merger and the coming together of parties, I have always said that as long as any merger or any coming together is to better Nigeria and for governing properly, I am for it.
“If it is just a merger for election or state capture, I’m not for it. I am not desperate to be president, I am desperate to see Nigeria work, especially for the poor, because we have a lot of potential.”
“So, if the merger is to be able to govern Nigeria properly on all those things that will make Nigeria a better place, I am for it.
“If the merger is to be able to govern Nigeria properly and work for all those things that would make Nigeria become a better place, I am for it.
“It might be at the party level, it might be at the individual level or at any level, we must come together to be able to build a better Nigeria,” he said.
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