June 26, (THEWILL) – Apparently eager to compete favourably with the two major political parties in the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the (Peoples Democratic Party), the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are planning to form an alliance ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general election.
Both parties have submitted the names of their presidential candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the deadline expires.
A former Governor of Kano State and former Minister of Defence, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is the presidential candidate of the NNPP, while former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Peter Obi, is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
But the two parties have not confirmed their vice presidential candidates. They only fielded place holders who will withdraw immediately they pick substantive candidates to fill the position.
While LP has used the Director-General of Obi’s campaign team, Dr Doyin Okupe, as its place holder for the position of vice president, the NNPP also put in a name as a place holder.
Kwankwaso has confirmed that his party is in talks with LP and Peter Obi, with regard to forming a coalition ahead of the 2023 general election.
On the party’s chances of getting a substantive VP, Kwankwaso said, “In all the discussions we’ve been having with some big names that we believe will be acceptable in the South and North, but we have not found anyone suitable for the position yet. Although have interviewed some people, we have not picked anybody.”
He said the NNPP has been discussing with Obi and his party over the possibility of forming an alliance, just as he confirmed that friends and families of the Obi and himself are also part of the ongoing discussion.
He noted that only a merger would guarantee the NNPP and LP victory over the APC or PDP.
Kwankwaso said that an alliance with the LP became necessary due to failure on the part of the two major parties to pick a vice presidential candidate from the South-East.
“Merging with the Labour Party is very significant at this critical moment, especially when you consider the fact that both the APC and PDP presidential candidates did not pick their running mates from the South-East,” he added.
One thing that is clear is that both Obi and Kwankwaso are mixing the idea of merger and alliance together as if they are synonyms. A merger involves two parties fusing into one party, which is practically impossible now. No new party can be registered now as the time is too close to the election and the window for the registration of new political parties is closed.
INEC regulation prohibits the registration of a political party less than a year before an election. But the NNPP and LP can collapse their structures to support one another for specific positions, such as the presidency. The only thing to do is for both parties to form an alliance and go to the polls with the understanding that each of them will mobilise for a candidate where they are strong during the election.
Another knotty issue in the planned alliance is, who will be the presidential candidate and who will be the vice presidential candidate between Obi and Kwankwaso?
Speaking on the issue, Kwankwaso said, “That is what we are deliberating on. But based on how it is panning out, the older person will take the lead in the arrangement. If they (party stakeholders) check and determine who is senior, then they will pick that person as presidential candidate, while the younger person will become his running mate.”
This looks too simple and it may not work out as easily as Kwankwaso put it.
From the foregoing, the major obstacle to the alliance is who stepped down his presidential candidate ticket.
Speaking, a popular socio-political commentator based in Abuja, Deji Adeyanju, said it was clear as to what agreement should be reached between Obi and Kwankwaso.
“The merger between the Labour Party and NNPP should have Obi as President and Kwankwaso as Vice President.
That’s the only thing that makes sense,” Adeyanju tweeted penultimate Saturday.
Kwankwaso’s NNPP has a large following in the North, while Obi who recently defected from the PDP and joined the Labour Party, has won for himself many followers among the youth in the South.
Should both political parties eventually merge into one and Obi is given the presidential ticket, he will have overwhelming support in the South-East. The Igbo of the South-East have been clamouring that it is their turn to produce the country’s next president. If Obi emerges as the standard bearer of the new party, the Igbo will vote for him overwhelmingly.
If the alliance is well sealed, it will morph into a third force. Obi and Kwankwaso will then enjoy massive support in the North and South.
Speaking with THEWILL, a member of the Campaign for Democracy, Comrade Sola Olawale, said that the proposed merger between the NNPP and LP is possible, if the two parties and their leaders are sincere. Nigerians witnessed a similar alliance in the Second Republic and it worked well.
“Aside the presidential election the party may support the same adopted candidates in the country. What will happen is that NNPP will feature governorship candidates in its strong areas in the North, while the Labour Party will feature governorship and other candidates in the South,” Olawale said.
But the question is, can they agree on who will be the presidential candidate? Will they sustain the hope they have raised? Time will tell.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
