NewStats: 3,261,514 , 8,174,232 topics. Date: Thursday, 29 May 2025 at 01:33 PM 54p1l

The New Nigeria Peoples Party and Labour Party, with their popular candidates, may pose a serious threat to the dominant All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, writes LEKE BAIYEWU

Before the primaries conducted by various political parties to field candidates for the 2023 general elections, several parties, political groups and prominent Nigerians were in the news over their search for a ‘Third Force’ that would dislodge and end the dominance of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. The two dominant parties have been governing Nigeria at the presidential level since 1999.

While the PDP governed for 16 years, from 1999 to 2015, the APC took over in 2015 and has spent seven years in power. The next presidential election will hold in 2023 when the APC would have spent eight years and the ‘smaller’ parties are currently aligning and realigning forces in their bid to take on the APC and the PDP. However, the planned mergers and alliances seem not to have materialised yet.

However, individual parties and candidates seem to be making efforts, perhaps from the regional and zonal levels. Out of the 18 parties presently ed with the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC and the PDP included, two other parties are getting the attention of the electorate, especially in their strongholds. They are the New Nigeria People’s Party and the Labour Party. The NNPP and the LP have been in existence before now, with the latter winning elections in previous general elections. But, perhaps, due to their presidential candidates, they are now under the public spotlight. While a former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, is the candidate of the NNPP, a former Governor of Anambra State is running for the Office of the President on the platform of the LP.

Not only that, close watchers of events and the politicking going on in Kano State, which is considered to be the base of the NNPP and Kwankwaso, have expressed fears over the widening popularity of the opposition party under Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC. It is worthy to note that Kano presently has three influential politicians – Ganduje, Kwankwaso and another former governor, Ibrahim Shekarau. It will be noted that the trio have always formed alliances – two against one – in the previous elections. This time, Kwankwaso dumped the PDP for the NNPP while Shekarau quit the APC to Kwankwaso.

The fears are also based on the fact that Kano is strategic to the electoral victory of the APC, especially that of its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The North-West is said to have the highest voting population in the country (followed by the South-West), with Kano, which Ganduje often describes as a swing state, having the biggest voting bloc in the geopolitical zone. In the South-West, it is Lagos where Tinubu was its two-term governor. The block votes in Kano were said to have been so attractive that the annual Tinubu Colloquium, a lecture series marking his birthday, which is usually held in Lagos and Abuja, with political heavyweights and allies in attendance, was moved to the state in 2021.

However, Kwankwaso and his NNPP are said to be staging a political tsunami against the APC in Kano, with mass defections recorded in the state already, including close aides to Ganduje and prominent of the Tinubu Campaign.

Obi of the Labour Party was a member of the PDP until a few days before the presidential primary that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its standard-bearer. Some presidential aspirants like Obi in the PDP had left the race, with one of them describing the scramble for delegates’ votes as “obscenely monetised.”

Perhaps, Obi saw the handwriting on the wall. He defected from the PDP to the LP. Being from the South-East where there are agitations over an alleged marginalisation of the zone – a zone that has never produced a president for the country, sentiments from the area have been in Obi’s favour.

Those following Obi’s campaign have also noted the massive youth he enjoys especially on social media. Though INEC has said virtual doesn’t count but actually ballot votes, several ‘influencers’ are now mobilising for registration and collection of Permanent Voter Cards by eligible Nigerians, also in the move to end APC and PDP’s reign.

On June 12 when Nigeria was marking Democracy Day, Obi had addressed the issue of lacking the political structure to defeat the ‘principalities and powers’ called the APC and the PDP. Speaking via his verified Twitter handle (@PeterObi), the presidential candidate tweeted, “Whenever I hear of no structure, my answer to it is simple: the 100 million Nigerians that live in poverty will be the structure. The 35 million Nigerians who don’t know where their next meal will come from will be the structure. The elderly, our mothers, fathers and the old ones (who are) dying or being owed gratuity/pension will be the structure. ASUU: the lecturers that are being owed and the students who are not in school will be the structure. We’ll create the structure, and they’ll see what the structure is all about. The structure is about human beings. — PO”

A Professor of Political Science at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Emmanuel Onyebuchi, stated that should parties have to choose their vice-presidential candidates from the South, and they cannot pick Obi from the South-East geopolitical zone, then they should look for one in the South-South.

Onyebuchi said, “Let me start by saying that one of the mistakes made by the PDP was to frustrate Obi out of the party. Things are changing seriously in Nigeria. The frustration and the hardships that the citizens are suffering have made them start looking for men of integrity and impeccable character, and such people are very few, and Obi is one of them. I don’t know what actually transpired. Obi leaving the PDP is a very big minus for the party because some of us had already concluded that he was going to be the running mate to Atiku because we have looked around and there are just one or two credible candidates remaining. I don’t know what happened, even with Atiku himself. It is a real problem now. It is a very big problem now because I don’t know any other candidate that commands the respect and trust within the South-East like Obi. He has the backing of the Church and so on. I can see people awakening from their deep slumber; you can see the rush for PVCs. People are charged; people are highly mobilised right now.”

The lecturer added, “For the PDP, I think the best option left for them now is to look for a credible candidate from the South-South.”

The professor dismissed the claim that parties were sceptical about picking candidates from the South-East due to its low voting population, stating that Nigerians would be shocked with the mass turnout of voters in the 2023 general elections to Obi. He said, “What I am telling you now is that people have awoken from their slumber. The problem with the South-East is not voters’ turnout. If you can see what is happening now with the level of mobilisation, people would be shocked by the (huge) turnout in 2023. People would be surprised by the level of turnout from the South-East and all over the federation where the people of the South-East are living. They are now mobilising to get their PVCs. And if they match it with coming out to vote, Nigerians would be surprised by the number of votes coming from the South-East. As I said, the PDP made a very big mistake by frustrating Obi out of the party and most of the votes from the South-East and the major cities where the Igbo are living would go to Peter Obi.”

However, a ranking member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Suleiman, who is representing Fagge Federal Constituency in Kano and once announced his plan to obtain Nomination and Declaration of Interest forms of the APC for Tinubu for N100m, said the NNPP lacked the political structure to beat the ruling party in the state.

Speaking on the chances of the APC and Tinubu getting block votes despite NNPC’s growing popularity, Suleiman said, “As a politician, I would not want to say I will not lose sleep, I can only tell you that I am going to sleep with my eyes open.” He also stated, “I concede to the fact that Kwankwaso is a household name. He is a politician of repute but I can tell you that the APC is still the party to beat in Kano.”

https://punchng.com/presidential-poll-kwankwaso-obi-raise-stake-in-nnpp-lp-threaten-apc-pdp/?amp

Mtchewwww..

Delusions of grandeur..

This is the killer ticket.

Believe it or not

Joezinho:
Mtchewwww..

Delusions of grandeur..

You know nothing about politics , Go and watch Telemundo

NaijaRoyalty:

You know nothing about politics , Go and watch Telemundo

Who needs the jaundiced opinion of an internet noisemaker and empty barrel like you?

If only Kwakwanso would be OBIdient

If Obi doesn't want to be the VP, he should go and rest.

Kwankwaso left PDP, not because he hadn't the Kano Structure, but for a Presidential shot.

Obi left PDP, because he didn't control his state Structure (Hard truth). If he had known Atiku would Win, I bet he wouldn't be a Labourer now

E go clear for their eyes soon. Kwankwaso should just team up with Peter Obi and let's bury APC and PDP at once.

Noise maker

Unzerious:
If Obi doesn't want to be the VP, he should go and rest.

Kwankwaso left PDP, not because he hadn't the Kano Structure, but for a Presidential shot.

Obi left PDP, because he didn't control his state Structure (Hard truth). If he had known Atiku would Win, I bet he wouldn't be a Labourer now

Your monika says it all. You are an unseriouus a55hole. Person like u wey no sabi em pale go come nairaland because it's a faceless page to miscap.
It I catch u, I go chop u like raw weed

Nonybb:
If only Kwakwanso would be OBIdient

He would. He's wise

This combo will keep APC and PDP on their toes.

Obidients Please put this in your mind. Below is the difference between Kwankwaso and Peter Obi. Stop thinking Kwankwaso will deputize Peter Obi. He is welcome to be our deputy though.

Obi has travelled to Egypt to see what they are doing to know how to improve the system if elected....but tinubu is busy jumping from state governor to state governor so that they can help him rig in his favour

The much awaited 3rd force is here!
Obi and kwakwanso, a formidable force!
APC and PDP go hear am.
Anything to make this two big for nothing party is welcome be me.

Obi & Kwankwaso is a national movement. #peterobi4president

I sincerely hope so

Good move by the 2 parties

Political Parties is What Has Kept Us Where We Are. I Will Rather Focus On The Person And Not The Party This Time

When are they announcing the merger?
That's what I'm obidiently waiting for

APC has the right to impose who ever they wish as their presidential candidates...

You on the other hand has every right to vote them in or out...

They should merge please.... This movement is to save Nigeria

.

PavillionEnergy:



Thunder fire Vulture Griller.

Amen

Joezinho:
Mtchewwww..

Delusions of grandeur..

APC and PDP are worse.

Who is president and who is VP?

Afamed:
Noise maker

Continue but when yhu are done, don't forget to post pictures of the part of this country abandoned by yhur slave masters while in power.

It's no surprise that this combo will be a very formidable one and a threat to APC and PDP.

It's not surprising seeing how much the ruling parties are trying to scuttle the progress of Obi. But the more they try, the more they make him popular. I bet you they are scared.

Sometimes I wonder if Obi is the only presidential candidate in Nigeria with the way he's being talked about. Lol

Kwankwaso and Obi ticket will definitely do Nigeria good. The blind, deaf and dumb knows this.

I wish something tangible come out from their series of meetings

If Tinubu Wants to Win Our Hearts ,Then He Must Donate And Fund Peter Obii’s campaign.