The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has denied rumours of a merger deal with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Obi made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday morning, where he talked on the state of the nation.
The former Anambra State governor revealed that no agreement has been established with other parties yet. Instead, he called on all lovers of Nigeria in the political space to come together in 2027 and defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he accused of mismanaging the country’s resources.
Obi also expressed concerns about the security situation in Nigeria. According to him, the needless deaths caused by banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping-for-ransom are “unfortunate”. Furthermore, he criticized the high level of corruption in Nigeria and the increasing cost of governance, which has led to a significant rise in public debt under the current APC administration.
In the 2023 presidential election, President Bola Tinubu of the APC secured the highest number of votes, with 8,794,726 votes. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP came second with 6,984,520 votes, while Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP finished fourth, claiming victory in his home state of Kano with 1,496,687 votes.
Notably, Obi and Kwankwaso were both members of the PDP before the last election but left due to irreconcilable differences.
There have been rumours of a merger of the three opposition candidates ahead of the next elections in 2027.
