A former member of the House of Representatives Abdulmumin Jibrin has ruled out the possibility of a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso becoming a running mate to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Speculations were rife that both presidential candidates were making moves to form an alliance capable of defeating the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar in next year’s general elections.
Obi and Kwankwaso had also confirmed the news, with both candidates stating they had advanced in talks over the plan
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Jibrin who is a chieftain of the NNPP stated that Kwankwaso has more political experience than Obi and as such would not agree to be the vice presidential candidate should the planned merger work.
He said, “Very clearly, Kwankwaso will not be the running mate to Peter Obi. By every standard, Kwankwaso should be the presidential candidate.
“Kwankwaso has more political exposure and experience. He has a bigger profile when it comes to that (political exposure). He has more experience politically on how to win the election.
“At the end of the day, when you look at the equity contribution in terms of votes, it will be a ratio of about 70 to 30 percent. We are looking at bringing 70 percent of the contributions. Even if it is business – Peter Obi is experienced in business – he knows that whoever is bringing the larger percentage of the equity is expected to stay on board.”
Jibrin added that Kwankwaso is the only politician in the North that commands large followership like President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We are working on getting a presidential running mate,” he said.
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