From left: Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees BOT of the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP, Dr Boniface Aniebonam has said that a joint presidential ticket comprising Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso appears the most viable option towards ensuring that the party wins the country’s presidential election slated for some time in February 2023.

This is coming ahead of the Friday, June 17, 2022 deadline given to the 17 registered political parties in the country to submit the names of their vice presidential candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, the country’s electoral umpire.

While Peter Obi, a two-time governor of Anambra State, who is the presidential flagbearer for the Labour Party LP has very strong base in his region, the South East and among the youths, Kwankwaso is also very strong in the North West, especially Kano, where he also served for two terms as governor and once as senator is the presidential candidate for the NNPP.

Aniebonam, who doubles as founder of the party, said while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after an interactive session with newsmen at the weekend that if he had his way, he would have preferred a joint ticket for the two presidential candidates, which would further boost their chances of clinching the 2023 presidential election.

He admitted that this is his personal opinion, which cannot be imposed on the party, but also disclosed that the relevant organs of the party are currently discussing all the options available to the party.

He however noted that the since Kwankwaso is a Muslim from the northern part of the country, his vice should naturally be a Christian from the southern part of the country, preferably the South East to ensure balance, assuring that the part has put machinery in place to beat the deadline given by INEC to submit its Vice Presidential candidate.

“I had wished that Peter Obi and Kwankwaso would run a joint ticket under the NNPP, but the relevant organs of the party are working vigorously towards the emergence of a vice presidential candidate that would ensure that the party is victorious in the coming 2023 presidential election”, he said.

On the state of the nation, he noted that all the systems across the length and breadth of the country have collapsed, which accounts for the recent political awakening, especially among the youths as evident in the upsurge in the number of people struggling to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards PVC in order to change the status quo.

He said: “The 2023 election, especially the presidential election would spring surprises and may not be on party basis but on individual basis, where considerations would be given to track records, integrity and the individual’s merit and this is where Kwankwaso stands out.

“What is important now is the interest of Nigerians because the citizens are tired of the old order dogged by corruption and inefficient government systems. NNPP is poised to delivering good and quality leadership that would transform the lives of the people, these things are not really rocket science, but it is all about the willingness to do things right and this is what the NNPP stands for.”

“Nigerians as at today want a leader that would rather take a wrong decision than take none. The youths want something better and they have realised that there is urgent need to take back their country because the future belongs to them and from his antecedents, Kwankwaso has all its takes to provide this quality leadership that would turn things around.”

He insists that the chances of the party’s flagbearer in becoming the next president of Nigeria are very bright, given current realities across the country’s political landscape, where the citizens have severally expressed disdain for the old order and earnestly desire good governance that would translate to security of lives and property as well as economic prosperity.

It would recalled that the NNPP, which was formed in 2001, is not really a new party as many tend to believe, but has over the years, remained resilient against all odds in meeting the requirement of the INEC, especially in maintaining structures in two-thirds of the federation.