The report of the joint panel established by the Labour Party, the New Nigeria People’s Party and the Labour Party for the formation of an alliance between Rabiu Kwaso and Peter Obi was submitted to Saturday AON.
Kwankwaso is a former governor of Kano State and a presidential candidate for the NNPP. Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and LP presidential candidate is gaining support from youths in the south and on social media.
Both presidential candidates have been working together to create a joint ticket in hopes of defeating the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, and other opposition parties in the February 25th, 2023 presidential election.
Section 81(2) states that “Political parties wishing to merge shall each give the commission nine month’s notice of their intention before a general election.” The 2023 general elections will begin on February 25, which is less then nine months away.
Kwankwaso confirmed in an interview that a committee had been set up to study the alliance. This conversation is ongoing. He stated, “We are currently in talks with Peter Obi. A committee is looking into how to merge us.”
“The merger is significant because, as you can see from the image above, neither the ruling All Progressives Congress nor the opposition Peoples Democratic Party chose their running mates from South-East.”
Supporters of both candidates are growing anxious about the lack of progress in the alliance talks as the deadline approaches for candidates to be replaced and running mates for the Presidential and National Assembly candidates.
Saturday AON Dr Doyin Okupe confirmed that the panel had ended its sitting and that talks were continuing on how to move forward.
Okupe stated, “A committee had been established before this and it has completed its work.” There were informal meetings, third-party stakeholders intervening and structured meetings.
“All in all, we reached two agreements. One is that we will work together as political parties to achieve the change we all want. We did not agree on who would be president and vice-president. This was something we didn’t agree upon. We left it open.”
Okupe was asked if the parties would reach an agreement on the issue prior to the deadline by which political parties must submit their names for final running mates. Okupe replied, “We are aware that the deadline is approaching and we are working towards it.” We adjourned sine die after our last meeting. If there is a change we will reconvene. We are still moving forward. It is not a problem. There is no problem. We have already agreed to cooperate to create a platform to form a national coalition.
In an interview, Prof Rufai Alkali, the National Chairman of the NNPP, stated that the party engaged with people and received support from many places.
Alkali answered the question “Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso” when asked who would be the running mate for Obi and Kwankwaso. Certain decisions must be made at the right time and in a manner that will bring strength and credibility to this endeavor.
When asked if a decision was made on the matter, he replied, “When we do, then you will be the first to know.” No decision yet.”
He said nothing about the report of the panel and he was not going to comment.
Alkali spoke out about the possibility of the NNPP becoming a reality in 2023. We continue to receive calls from people who are likely to join us, and we are making great progress.”
Sources from both the NNPP as the LP confirmed to Saturday, AON that an influential former President was being consulted about the issue.
Kwankwaso Rivers
Nyesom Wike (rivers state governor) received Kwankwaso Friday in Port Harcourt.
Wike is reported to be upset by losing the PDP presidential primary election to Atiku Abubakar, and the running mate slot for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa from Delta State. He has continued to receive high-profile politicians including Obi, who visited him on Thursday.
Both of them were seen chatting on Friday in front of Wike’s house. This happened approximately 24-hours after Godsday Orubebe was killed in a conflict with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Bala Mohammed, the Governor of Bauchi State, visited Wike on Wednesday. Governor Dave Umahi, of Ebonyi State, visited Wike earlier in this week.
The visits are believed to have something to do with the upcoming presidential election. The outcome of all the visits was not known.
19 Days to Go
The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the schedule and timetable of activities for the 2023 general elections. It indicates that parties can withdraw from or replace their candidates, as well as their running mates, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
This implies that the APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwajubola Tinubu, Obi from the Labour Party, and the other candidates who submitted interim names as running mates, have only 19 days to submit their final names.
Item six of the timetable read, “Last day for withdrawal by candidate(s)/replacement of withdrawn candidate(s) by political parties for the presidential and National Assembly (elections) is July 15, 2022, while for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly is August 12, 2022. Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2022 states that the election must be held no later than 90 days after the date.
APC and its presidential candidate were faced with the possibility that a Muslim/Muslim ticket could be created. Tinubu, a Muslim from a Christian-dominated South, was confronted by the possibility of his running mate coming from the North, which is dominated predominantly by Muslims.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, along with other groups and individuals, strongly opposed a Muslim/Muslim/Christian presidential ticket. They claimed that such would be insensitive to the people and should be rejected.
Voter registration extension
In spite of public demand for an extension to the June 30 deadline to continue voter registration, INEC stated that it cannot extend the exercise at this time as the matter is currently in subjudice.
The Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project, along with 185 other concerned Nigerians, had filed a suit in Lagos at the Federal High Court asking for an order of mandamus. This would direct and compel INEC, to increase voter registration by at least three months and to take effective steps to ensure that all eligible Nigerians can register to vote in the 2023 general election.
According to rumours, the commission would extend the exercise by 60 days to meet the House of Representatives’ request, Mr Rotimi Okanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC National Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu stated that the deadline for June 30 had not been extended.
Oyekanmi stated that the deadline for CVR extension has been extended in a telephone interview. The commission sent additional 209 INEC Voter Enrollment devices to these areas after we observed pressure in certain areas, specifically the South-East states of Lagos, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory. This was to help ease the CVR process.
“The commission wanted us to wait to assess the impact of the action before we could decide the next steps. However, that was not possible because SERAP took us to court to stop the CVR from being stopped.
“The court ordered that we not announce a date or end CVR, but instead come on June 29th to address issues raised by SERAP. Even if we wish to extend, we can’t do anything until the court has answered our questions and we have responded strongly to the issues in the suit. That would be June 29. We can’t act on the CVR before then.
Festus Okoye (INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee), also spoke on the subject. He said that the chairman was open to the possibility of extending the exercise in an interview with Channels Television.
He said that the increase in registrants recently had made it inevitable to extend the deadline.
He said, “We will be going before the Federal High Court June 29 to present the cards. After we present our arguments, we are confident that the court will accept the reasons why the CVR cannot be extended beyond a specified period.
“But, we are convinced that an extension is possible given the enthusiasm and resolve of Nigerians for registration. The commission is prepared to extend the CVR period but not to the extent that some people are canvassing.”
He stated that it would not be worthwhile to extend registration. However, it would be impossible to print permanent voter cards for those who are registered. This would prevent them from being able to get the cards printed and allow them to vote. He said, “So, we are favorable to an extension of CVR.”
“Tinubu, the best candidate”
