By Wale Odunsi South East Revival Group (SERG) has chastised former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over his comment on Peter ...
By Wale Odunsi
South East Revival Group (SERG) has chastised former Kano
State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over his comment on Peter Obi, ex-Anambra
State governor.
Kwankwaso and Obi are the presidential candidates of the New
Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Labour Party (LP).
Kwankwaso said the proposed merger with the LP did not work
because he could not be Obi’s running mate.
The ex-lawmaker added that accepting the vice presidential
position would induce the collapse of the NNPP.
Kwankwaso informed the public that his political profile and
experience garnered in various capacities helped him to bring the platform to
limelight.
The former minister said due to these reasons, anything
short of him retaining the presidential ticket would split the NNPP.
Kwankwaso revealed that during the discussion with the LP,
the main issue was who becomes the standard bearer.
“Some of our representatives thought that there should be a
criteria in terms of age, qualification, offices held, performance and so on.
“Of course, the other side wouldn’t want that. Most of the
people from there believe that the presidency has to go there (South East).
“If I decide to be a vice presidential candidate to anybody,
NNPP will collapse because the party is based on what we have built in the last
30 years”, he said.
Responding, SERG national coordinator Willy Ezugwu called
Kwankwaso “an ethnic politician” against the “earlier belief that he is a
nationalist”.
A statement on Tuesday said the battle for the soul of
Nigeria ahead of 2023 “does not require an alliance with a politician with
ethic-superiority mindset”.
The pan-Igbo sociopolitical group noted that like every
other presidential candidate in the race, Obi belongs to a tribe and religion.
“Peter Obi has been accepted across the country as majority
of Nigerians have rejected the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling
All Progressives Congress (APC).”
Ezugwu declared that flagbearers of the APC (Bola Tinubu)
and the PDP (Atiku Abubakar) “belong to the old bloc of expired and failed
politicians”.
Nigerians, according to the coordinator, hoped that an
alliance between the former governors would complement their resolve to take
back their country.
“However, the recent utterances of Rabiu Kwankwaso and his
insults on Igbos have clearly exposed him as an ethnic bigot who was mistaken
for a nationalist.
“Kwankwaso has exposed his true self, that he is not different
from other ethnic bigots with a superiority complex which is extremely bad for
national unity”, Ezugwu added.
The statement advised the LP and Peter Obi to move forward
and “shop for a more nationalistic vice-presidential candidate from the North”.
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