Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and other Northern Christian leaders in his camp have revealed why they decided not to support Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi.
It should be noted that the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who rejected the Muslim-Muslim ticket announced on Friday that they would support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
A statement released by the group shed more light on their decision, revealing that they did not support Obi because they do not believe he can win the 2023 presidential election.
They went on to say that even if the Labour Party candidate wins the election, he may not be able to successfully run the government.
According to them, a victory for Obi would be bad for the country’s fragile political situation because it would mean a minority government in power.
They argued, however, that if the Labour Party can maintain its current pace, it will be a future heavyweight player in the country’s political space.
Their statement reads: From the existing structure of the Labour Party and even from the records of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as it stands for 2023 elections, even if all their candidates win in the 2023 elections, can the party still produce the President? Very unlikely indeed.
Assuming without conceding that they even produce the President, can they (LP) run the government? Not likely. The results of 5 and 6 above will be to form a minority Government with devastating effect on National political stability further impelling the fragile health of our Country.
Furthermore, there is no way a keen political observer will not see that there is a major disconnect between Peter Obi as a candidate and Labour, which is indicative of the fact that he is not running a collegial political structure in a diverse Country like Nigeria.
It is, however, respectively observed that LP is a party to be watched in the future only if it sustains the tempo and maintains the mass movement while at the same time building up its structures towards subsequent elections.
The Northern Christian leaders also stated that they chose not to support Rabiu Kwankwaso and his New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) because it does not appear that they intend to run in the 2023 elections.
Dogara and his supporters contended that the NNPP appears to be well-positioned for the future.
