“Good Morning Nigeria. The march is on. There is no going back; no stopping; we must all work hand-in-hand. The journey to take back Nigeria is Now or Never”, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, tweeted on Thursday morning following a disclosure by the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku, in an interview with the BBC Hausa, disclosed that talks were ongoing between him, Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Presidential candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP) but did not reveal the nature of the talks or the terms of the agreement if any.
LP and the NNPP on Wednesday said their presidential candidates would not step down for Atiku.
The two opposition parties said this as the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council advised Obi and Kwankwaso not to trust the ex-vice president (Atiku).
Commenting on the reported talks, the Spokesman of the APC Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo SAN, urged Nigerians to ignore the former vice-president, describing him as a man that cannot be trusted even by the leaders of his own party.
Speaking in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Keyamo said, “Atiku is lying; he is not in talks with anyone. Atiku cannot be trusted and that is why he can’t keep his party together.
“He has not been able to reach an agreement with the aggrieved governors of his party because those governors know that he does not keep his word.
“Kwankwaso left PDP because he was humiliated in the North-West. The PDP treated Peter Obi badly and the man left. These are the men Atiku is giving the impression that they are ready to work with him. It is all lies.”
The Director-General of the LP Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Oshuntokun, in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday, said Obi had no intention of striking a deal with Atiku except the latter agreed to step down for the former Anambra State governor.