By PETRUS OBI
There is no doubt that the proposed alliance between Labour Party Presidential Candidate Mr Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of NNPP has put much fear and apprehension on the ruling party APC and major opposition party, PDP.
On Saturday morning, the presidential candidate of the NNPP, Rabiu Kwankwaso, confirmed that his party was in talks with the Labour Party.
Kwankwaso had said, “We are in talks with Peter Obi and a committee is working to look into how to form a merger between us”.
“The merger is important because as you can see both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not pick their running mates from the South-East.”
While there may not be enough time for a merger as being claimed in some quarters, a frontline youth leader Donald Okoro has said, “whatever name it is called, merger or alliance, what is important is for both names to work together for victory in next year’s Presidential election.”
There have been claims that a new party via a merger cannot be formed in time for the election.
“That INEC regulation prohibits the registration of a political party less than a year before an election.
But Mr. Okoro noted that the merger could be concluded after the elections while structures could be collapsed, alliances formed just for the election and the need to save Nigeria from further collapse.
Deji Adeyanju, a popular socio-political commentator based in Abuja, also said “it’s however, clear as to what agreement should be reached between Obi and Kwankwaso.
“The merger with the Labour Party and NNPP should have Obi as president and Kwankwaso as VP.
“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” Adeyanju tweeted on Saturday.
Kwankwaso’s NNPP has a large following in the North, while Obi who recently defected from the PDP and joined the Labour Party, has endeared himself to large youth following in the South.
National Chairman of Labour party, Julius Abure said that the Peter Obi movement is bigger than ENDSARS, and there lies the fear in the two biggest political parties in Nigeria today, the PDP and the APC.
