The Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cannnot cause any upset during next year’s presidential election.
Atiku, who is Nigeria’s former Vice President, stated this in an exclusive interview with Arise TV which was aired on Friday morning.
He noted that Obi, who was his erstwhile vice presidential candidate during the 2019 presidential election, alongside LP, cannot perform any miracle during the 2023 elections. He questioned the performance of the LP in the just concluded governorship election in Osun, saying the party does not have governors, members of the national assembly and state assemblies.
“I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting,” he said.
“We could have seen it in the last election in Osun state. What is the performance of the Labour Party?
“This is a party that doesn’t have a governor, doesn’t have members of the national assembly, doesn’t have state assembly members, and politics in this country depends on the structures you have at the various levels — at the local government level, at the state level, and at the national level.”
“It is very difficult for a miracle to happen simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party.”
The former vice-president said 90 percent of people in the north are not social media, insinuating that it will limit the chances of the LP to win the 2023 presidential election.
“So, it is very difficult to expect a miracle to happen, simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party. After all, they were saying through social media, they had more than one million votes in Osun state,” he said.
“But how many votes turned for the Labour Party? And then again, mark you, you’re talking about social media. In the north, 90 percent of our people are not tuned to social media.”
On Obi’s defection to LP and whether Atiku misses him after he (Obi) left the PDP, the former vice president noted that though he misses the former Anambra State governor, but Obi didn’t consult him before his defection.
“Unfortunately, Peter did not consult me. We are going on and on and suddenly I heard the announcement of his defection. I think he informed me three days after he decamped to Labour Party. So, he did not even consult me.”