2023 Presidency: Why Peter Obi Cannot Step Down for Atiku Revealed

• Peter Obi's meeting with some PDP governors recently fueled speculations that the Labour Party presidential candidate may step down for Atiku
• However, Ogoegbunam Kingdom, a youth and women development advocate, said it is not “feasible” for Obi to withdraw for Atiku
• The executive director of the Platform for Youth and Women Development made a reference tp INEC's guidelines to back his position

FCT, Abuja - Ahead of the 2023 elections, there have been rumours that Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, may step down for Atiku Abubakar, his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The rumours were fueled by Obi’s recent meetings with Nyesom Wike, governors of Rivers state, and three other PDP governors in London.

Festus Keyamo, the minister of state for Labour, strengthened the speculations when he reacted to a report claiming that the Labour Party presidential candidate had agreed to “deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence”.

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2023: Governor Wike hints on naming preferred presidential candidate, sends message to Nigerians about PDP

“We told the OBIdient soldiers that their ‘hero’ was taking them to nowhere; taking them for a ride of the century and for political 419! We laugh! We are ahead of them!,” the minister posted on Twitter.

Peter Obi cannot step down for Atiku, says Ogoegbunam Kingdom

Commenting on the development, Ogoegbunam Kingdom, a youth and women development advocate, said it is not “feasible” for Obi to step down for Atiku, citing INEC’s guidelines as the basis for his position.

“To the best of my knowledge, it is not very feasible for any candidate to step down for another candidate, as provided in the INEC guideline for the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections, which mandates political parties and candidates to withdraw and replace candidates by July 15th 2022.

“So we can see it is no longer possible under the INEC’s guidelines for Peter Obi to step down for any candidate or for any candidate to step down for him,” Mr Kingdom told Legit.ng.

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PDP crisis: Atiku and Wike reached an agreement, Rivers governor drops strong hint

Asked what Obi-dients, Obi’s supporters, may do if the rumours of stepping down for Atiku turned out to be true, the executive director of the Platform for Youth and Women Development said:

“The Obedient movement is youth-driven; it is also driven by Nigerians who are not comfortable with septuagenarians becoming President at this critical time Nigeria yearns for youthful purposeful leadership.

“So, all candidates will go into the ring in the forthcoming elections, and the best amongst them will emerge.”

2023: PDP chieftain tells Peter Obi, Kwankwaso to return home

In a related development, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi, has urged the duo of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to return back to the party just Ibrahim Shekarau, the former Kano state governor.

Makarfi stated this on Tuesday, August 30 during the live telecast of Channels Television’s breakfast show “Sunrise Daily”.

Recall that Obi is formerly a member of the PDP before defecting to the Labour Party to pick the presidential ticket.

Source: Legit.ng