By Adeleye Kunle
It has been revealed why the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, failed to inform the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, of his intention to leave the party.
According to a close ally of the former Anambra State governor, Obi failed to inform Atiku of his plans after sources informed him that Atiku had no plans to select a running mate from the South-East.
According to an ally who spoke to Track News on the condition of anonymity, the former vice president planted a candidate in one of the thriving young parties prior to the PDP presidential primary.
According to the source, Atiku saw strength in the younger parties, citing the experience of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) in 2019, which performed well in the polls.
“You know, Kingsley Moghalu did not win in 2019, but he had a significant impact on the youth population,” the source said. The former Vice President believed that having such a young charismatic politician in the race would cause him some difficulties.
“Even before the PDP national convention, Atiku was certain that he would run for president again on the party’s ticket.” That’s why he talked about the right of first refusal and called the northern elders’ bluff when they tried to broker a deal.
“It became clear to us that, because the PDP was not forthcoming on the issue of zoning the Presidency to the South, as well as the bond among incumbent state governors, we needed to explore other options while not giving Atiku any impression about our plans.”
According to an ally of the LP presidential candidate, Obi’s plan to leave the PDP was completed on June 27.
“With the resignation officially sealed, Obi now traveled to the United Kingdom for a brief visit,” he said. Following his visit to 10 Downing Street, he returned and declared his candidacy for LP on June 27. On July 1, His Excellency informed the former Vice President that he had moved on and that was the end of it. The LP presidential primary had already ended by that point.”
In a recent interview, Atiku claimed that Obi informed him about his plan to leave the PDP days after his defection, which Obi confirmed.
This article first appeared on TRACK News.
