Politics
Kwankwaso denies reports of merger with Atiku, others ahead of polls
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has debunked claims about a possible merger with Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any other candidate.
Kwankwaso was responding to Atiku’s assertion in a BBC Hausa interview that he was in talks about having Peter Obi, the candidate for the Labour Party, and the former governor of Kano, resign for him.
Atiku also said in the interview that the two, who left the PDP last year to run for president in their respective parties, do not endanger his prospects of winning the election.
However, Mr. Kwankwaso voiced disappointment in Atiku over the allegations during a Channels TV interview on Thursday, claiming he hasn’t laid eyes on the PDP candidate since the two of them first met on a television program last year.
In contrast to the dominant opposition PDP and the ruling APC, he presented his NNPP as a strong alternative.
The two parties will be compelled to engage with the other parties if a run-off is necessary, according to the former governor of Kano.
READ ALSO:2023: NNPP campaign rubbishes Atiku’s claim on meeting with Kwankwaso
“Both the PDP and APC have been extremely arrogant. They feel too important, they try to muscle out everybody. If they like you, they like you; if they don’t like you, they kick you out and do all sorts of things.
“Now they will be forced to go for discussion for the first time because before now, what they do is to win election and take everything to their bed room. But not again and that is a great achievements for NNPP, that is our way of bringing democracy and also bringing back these guys who have been rejected by the PDP and the APC.
“Because before now, it is either you are in party A or B but now people have the opportunity to go out there and contest elections on the platform of an alternative party.
“The message now is simple, we are not ready to go into discussion with anybody whatsoever. We can only discuss with any party if there is no clear winner in the election slated for 25th February.
“We have nothing to discuss with any party and we also want Nigerians to know that, because these lies will continue until after the election.”
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