The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said he would be not the running mate of the presidential standard-bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for the 2023 general election.

Kwankwaso said accepting to be any presidential candidate’s running mate would lead to the collapse of NNPP.

The former governor of Kano State said this in an interview with newsmen on Saturday shortly after inaugurating the state office of NNPP in Gombe State.

He added that his party had been in talks with the Labour Party for possible merger, saying the main issue that hindered progress was the issue of who becomes the presidential candidate.

“From the discussion with Labour Party, the main issue was who becomes the president if the parties merge.

“At the end of the day, 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 presidency has to go there (South East).

“If now I decide to be vice presidential candidate to anybody in this country; NNPP will collapse, because the party is based on what we have built in the last 30 years.

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“I served for 17 years as a civil servant; we are talking of 47 years of very serious hard work that is what is rarely holding NNPP now,” he said.

Kwankwaso further stated that he was not against presidency going to any part of the country but it must be done based on “strategy, political calculation and equation”.

He added that the South-East region of the country had lost out on the presidential and vice presidential candidates of both All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but had a chance with the NNPP.

The former governor stated that the best option for the zone was to partner with with NNPP ahead of the 2023 general election.

“Even if my friend (Peter Obi) wants to accept vice presidential candidate, some people in the South-East will not accept, that is not strategic.

“This is a golden opportunity, if they lose it, it will be a disaster.

“We have options in the NNPP in the South to pick a good vice president and one of them is the Labour Party man you are talking about,” Kwankwaso said.

On the chances of NNPP in 2023 elections, Kwankwaso said his party had the structure, organisation and population across the country to contest and win elections.

The Star