The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has revealed that Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso did not join the party because it could not guarantee them the presidential ticket.
PRP chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed disclosed this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, explaining that the former presidential candidates also raised concerns over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) delay in recognising the party’s national executive.
“They had issues about whether the party could guarantee that they would emerge as presidential and vice presidential candidates,” Baba-Ahmed said. “They had questions about whether we could guarantee that a huge number of places could be made available to them because they were coming in with a movement into our party.”
He added: “They also had issues with the fact that INEC deliberately refused to upload our new executive – me and my colleagues – for a long time. I think they were right that it represented a worry that we had a problem with INEC. So they moved on.”
Obi and Kwankwaso, who were the presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) respectively in the 2023 elections, recently joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). The move followed months after they had aligned with a coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The pair cited a worsening political climate marked by internal crises, external interference, and growing hostility within party structures.
Obi, who retains a large youth following, said: “Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong. I will continue to respect them.”
After joining the NDC, Kwankwaso described the move as an effort to “provide our people with a credible platform where they can thrive and realise their full potential”. He urged Nigerians to join the NDC in the “renewed fight for good governance and true democracy”.
Obi secured 6.1 million votes in the 2023 presidential election, while Kwankwaso polled 1.1 million votes.
Despite their failure to join the PRP, Baba-Ahmed called on the opposition to unite. “We will work together, because I believe that somewhere along the line, all the parties eventually have to pull their energies and resources together,” he said.
