The People’s Democratic Party has said Tuesday’s endorsement of Labor Party presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi by a senior statesman and Pan Niger Delta Forum leader Chief Edwin Clark further confirmed the party needs to reconcile with the five offended governors.
The party’s deputy national PR secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said so in an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, responding to Clark’s support.
Clark announced the approval at a press conference in Abuja, barely 48 hours after a similar endorsement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said it was only fair and just that after eight presidential years the South would produce the next president, Maj Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
He announced that he previously directed the national leadership of the Pan Niger Delta Forum to meet with Obi on December 23, 2022 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
He said after being informed of the successful outcome of the interaction; he took note of some comments that led to the approval.
Clark said: “Considering all of these factors, and putting His Excellency Peter Obi side by side with all the other candidates presented by other political parties, I have no doubt that our country Nigeria has a great opportunity, a phenomenal one Team to elect the Labor Party candidate and his deputy, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmad, as President and Vice-President respectively.
“I hereby officially announce that I will therefore personally vote for Peter Obi and his Vice Presidential nominee as President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Election Day, February 25, 2023.”
PDP responds
The PDP’s deputy national PR secretary, Abdullahi, said the party must reconcile with the aggrieved governors.
He said: “We need to be able to put our house in order in the coming days and the first step is to rekindle our relationship with the five governors. If it’s in our favour, I’ll be the happiest person.
“If Peter Obi gets that endorsement first from a former president who was the most famous and relevant living former president, and is endorsed by another Southern leader who is believed to be the President of the Southern Forum, then will to confirm to you that Peter Obi may be the surprise this country is waiting for, because it clearly looks like we are going to have to go to the second ballot, and that second ballot will determine what happens.
“Chief Edwin Clark’s endorsement of Peter Obi is a validation of the powerful impact Peter Obi is making with his presidential bid. It is confirmation that we may be heading for some kind of political Armageddon.”
Ortom supports Obasanjo
Meanwhile, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom also on Tuesday backed Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi.
In a statement by the governor’s special adviser for media and public relations, Terver Akase, titled “Governor Ortom supports Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi,” the governor noted that the former president was right in his choice of Obi as the right candidate to win The choice and provide the leadership that Nigerians want.
Ortom said that if he were not a member of the PDP, PDP, he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.
The statement read: “He (Ortom) believes that Obi possesses the qualities of a leader who will be a true President of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.
“He says the President Nigeria needs at this challenging time in the country’s history should be the one who understands the urgent need to unite the people and quickly enact policies and actions to steer the nation’s ship on the path of… to redirect growth and development. and emphasizes that Peter Obi has all these qualities.”