August 01, (THEWILL) – Delta State Governor and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, lacks the requisite experience to lead Nigeria as president in 2023.
Obi, a two-term former Governor of Anambra State, was the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in 2019. He was Atiku Abubakar’s running mate.
He defected from the PDP a few days to the party’s presidential primary election in May 2022.
Obi, whose political profile has improved, especially among the youth, is now considered to be a strong contender for Nigeria’s number one job.
But Okowa said Obi’s experience as governor was not “deep enough” to make him a good President.
Speaking during an interview with BBC Pidgin English, Okowa said: “I did not say he won’t have any votes, he will have. What I’m saying is that he’s not a new candidate.
“It has not been long since he left PDP. You know he was in APGA before. He came from APGA to PDP. It hasn’t been long since he left PDP. So he cannot say anything about PDP because that’s where he was before.”
On the crisis in the PDP, he said, “We’ve been talking internally, everything is being settled. You know that when something happens and everybody can’t agree, it is settled bit by bit. That is what we’re still working on from the inside.
“We are finding a way to talk I’ll say, he is my friend, I am his friend, and we will find a way to talk.”
Speaking on the rift between Atiku and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, he explained, “Atiku has said his own version of what happened and I am sure that version is the true position.
“I am also not saying that Wike is lying, but if someone carries their anger, it is important to air your views. For us in the party, it’s about how to bring everybody together, how all of us can work together.
“Wike is still a very important member of the party. He has worked so hard for the party, just as many of us have worked hard too.So we pray that everything comes together and we talk. I’m sure that very soon we’ll be sitting down.”
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