Respect Your Age, Step Down For Kwankwaso, NNPP Tells Atiku
The New Nigeria Peoples Party has denied claims that it was in talks with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku made the claim recently, saying he was in talks with the NNPP over how the party’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, would step down for him.
Reacting, the NNPP National Chairman, Rufai Alkali, urged the former vice president to respect his age, adding that Atiku should rather step down for a more younger Kwankwaso.
The NNPP National Chairman said, “Our members have been worried because we have huge crowds in the South and in the North. Our presidential candidate is campaigning. Our gubernatorial candidates, Senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and the State House of Assembly candidates have been campaigning.
“Since we came up with this mantra for a new Nigeria, we’ve not been engaged in unnecessary controversy. As a responsible party, we have been taken for granted.
We are not in talk with Atiku.
He should know that there are other people who have the right to be president and Kwankwaso has done a lot for Nigerians and Nigeria. Kwankwaso is a forerunner in the contest.
“The idea of the northern agenda is not true. The election of 2023 is different. Some leaders whose agenda is to work for some candidate, want a northern candidate. We kept quiet when Atiku said he was the Northern candidate. They talk about a government of national unity. Nobody is talking about that when it is convenient but we have no talk with Atiku and we are not planning an alliance with Atiku. He should respect his age and he can’t force anyone to endorse him.”
According to Alkali, “We are following the INEC guidelines and the electoral act.
“We produce agents in all the polling units. Most of these parties making noise today don’t have agents. The PDP of yesterday is not the PDP of today. Is not the party of Abubakar Rimi, Sunday Awoniyi, Sule Lamido, Solomon Lar and the rest.
“Five governors are not with Atiku. These governors are coming from powerful states. The two others have been sending messages that they will not support Atiku.
“We thought that anyone contesting an election should put his house together. We left the PDP because we knew it would implode. It is not the same party as yesterday. In the next one week, some will leave the PDP.
