Peter Obi would have been my running mate if… – Kwankwaso

Former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, seems to have another plan for former governor Peter Obi if he had not defected to the Labour Party (LP).

Kwankwaso said Obi might have become his running mate if he had joined the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), instead of the Labour Party, after exiting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Kwankwaso, who is now presidential candidate of the NNPP, said the party would hold its presidential primary next week, even though he was the only aspirant who obtained the forms of the NNPP.

The presidential aspirant also said the NNPP would shop for a popular vice-presidential candidate from the South after its national convention.

Kwankwaso who featured on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, on Monday, was asked about the reports that Obi was to continue his presidential race on the platform of the NNPC after quitting the PDP.

Kwankwaso said, “Actually we had opportunities to talk to ourselves on many national issues, until few days to the time when he declared for the Labour Party, of which he is now the presidential candidate. I wish him well and I wish all other presidential candidates well. I’m sure all these would be decide by the electorate across the country who are going to vote on the 25th of February, 2023.”

On whether he thought of Obi being his running mate, Kwankwaso said, “Yes, many people suggested that. I believe it could have been possible if not because he joined another party. Now, he is a (presidential) candidate as we have seen from the news just now. We look forward to seeing what happens in the next few days or weeks.”

When asked about picking a running mate from the South-East, the ex-governor said, “We are not there yet. After the convention (of the NNPP), then the party would sit down and look around and see if we can have a very good, credible somebody who is acceptable, somebody who can bring as many people as possible to come and vote for our party as the Vice-President of the NNPC from the Southern part of the country.”