NNPP pleads Atiku to step down for Kwankwaso.
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in a statement issued on Thursday said that, unless the opposing political parties remove their personal egos and interest, the planned coalition might become a failure.
Pastor Peter Olagookun, who happened to be the State Chairman of NNPP in Ondo State, stated this on Thursday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Olagookun expressed that if the leading actors of the planned coalition does not seat or unite with the ruling party - All Progressive Congress (APC), the political objectives of the planned coalition may not be realised.
He also appealed to the former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar to forgo his presidential ambition in the forthcoming 2027 general election, urging him to support the NNPP candidate, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso instead.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr Peter Obi, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and others advocating for an opposition coalition should persuade Atiku to step aside from the 2027 presidential race.
“He should support his brother, Kwankwaso, and together they should select a strong candidate from the South as his running mate.
“I believe that with this arrangement, the ruling party will not be able to withstand the opposition.
“But without such unity, the coalition will not work; it will collapse like dust before the 2027 general election,” he warned.
Olagookun further admonished that the opposition will be strong of the opposing leaders can set aside their personal ambitions and stand with Kwankwaso as a consensus choice.
He also emphasized that if Atiku heeds to this plea, the future generations will remember him as a leader who sacrificed his ambition for the unity and progress of the country.
He also added that Kwankwaso is a credible candidate, that would lead the opposing party to a smooth victory in 2027 presidential election.
“Kwankwaso is the only man who can defeat the ruling party and rescue Nigeria from its current situation.
“He has genuine, widespread support and well-structured political influence across both the northern and southern regions of the country through his Kwankwasiyya Movement,” he said.
He concluded by commending Atiku for his efforts in building the nation as well as mobilising key opposition stakeholders for the 2027 general election, which aims at making the country a better place.
