Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has revealed that former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is still unsure of the growing speculation ticket of Obi and Kwankwanso, and has not endorsed it.
In a recent interview, obtained and followed by ENigeria Newspaper, Obi clarified that although he met with Jonathan as part of his political discussions, the former president’s backing was not yet a formal endorsement.
“We are not talking about an endorsement yet,” Obi said. “When I become a candidate, I’ll come back for that.”
Also, Obi’s former campaign spokesman, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, provided insight into the closed-door encounter between Obi and Jonathan.
While Tanko spoke in a recent interview with The Punch regarding Obi’s visit to the former president, he noted that the visit was a component of a larger campaign to win support for Obi’s presidential aspirations, which he claimed represent the preferences of many young Nigerians.
“It is a visit to our national leaders and at the same time to appeal to them to give support to the candidature of Peter Obi based on available facts that the Nigerian youths have made up their mind that he is the most preferred candidate”, he said.
“And in order to unite this country to ensure that we continue to remain as united as possible, they want to fill in that particular gap of leadership from the southeastern part of this country so that they too can have a feel of belonging since after the Civil War.”
“I think it’s a noble objective for us to seek the support of his former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, considering the fact that His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, played a very fundamental role during his tenure as President.
“So we felt it was time for him to give us that particular support that would make a lot of sense. The former President is a humble man. And we believe that with his support, it will propel the candidature of Obi to a greater height.
“You’ve seen us do the same thing to our northern brothers, Prof Ango Abdullahi and the rest of them. So we felt it was important to also extend the same thing to His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan.
“That’s exactly what took place today,” he stated.
Peter Obi visit on a broader perspective
Peter Obi’s visit to the president coincided with the former president’s visit to the Aso Rock Villa visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few days ago. It also coincided with the recent national opposition summit in Ibadan, Oyo State on Saturday, hosted Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and attended by Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Kwankwaso, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi himself and other notable members of the opposition parties.
A delegation made up of Igbo elders, South-East ADC senators, and other political associates followed Obi.
The news also coincides with mounting rumors that Obi and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, two powerful members of the ADC coalition, may establish a political alliance.
