The Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, Doyin Okupe, has revealed that a substantive deputy to Peter Obi will be announced before Friday all things being equal.
Mr Okupe, who is occupying the slot of the running mate in a ‘place holding’ capacity at the moment, revealed that Mr Obi and the Labour Party will announce a substantive VP following the collapse of the talks with the NNPP which lingered for too long.
While speaking in an interview on ‘Politics Today’ on Tuesday night in a program which was monitored by Africa Daily News, New York, Mr Okupe revealed that the talks with Rabiu Kwankwaso-led NNPP collapsed about four weeks ago.
He asserted that the VP to be announced will come from Northern Nigeria and will be charged to create an inroad for the Labour Party in that part of the country.
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‘This matter (Vice Presidential candidate) will be concluded between tomorrow (Wednesday) and Friday. We are looking for a vibrant, able politician from the northern extraction. The person must have a measure of intellect and sound educational background.’
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that last month, Mr Okupe announced that he would be acting in a place-holding capacity due to the ongoing conversation with the NNPP.
Speaking on the alliance with NNPP, he said the talk is dead and buried.
‘Those discussions about merger, alliance and all that—was led by me from our side, and it is dead.’
Africa Daily News, New York had on Sunday reported that Mr Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the NNPP, said during an interview on Sunday, that Northern Nigerians will not vote for a South-eastern candidate because of the activities of separatist movements in the South-east. He stated that Mr Obi should accept to be his running mate.
According to him, Igbos from the South-east are good in business and are well talented but are not good in politics.
Mr Okupe, while dismissing the comments of the former Kano State governor, stated that the Labour Party is sure of victory against the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP. He described Mr Obi’s candidacy as a phenomenon that had not been witnessed in Nigeria.
Mr Okupe said the party is sure of polling 45 per cent of the total votes in the South-west.
