A Chiftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Minister of Transportation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has wished Peter Obi away in the coming 2023 general election, stating that the race is between Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu.
Newsonline reports that Chief Babatope added that the two parties to beat in the coming election remained the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), not Labour Party which can only try but there is nothing they can do.
The former Minister of Transportation who stated this on Monday added that though he hails from the same Yoruba race as Tinubu the APC presidential candidate, his support is for Atiku, his party’s presidential candidate.
Babatope said the only chance Peter Obi and Labour party could have could have come if they had the support of the organized labour movement.
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He said, “It is still going to be a two-party affair. It is still going to be between the APC and PDP. The Labour Party can only try but there is nothing they can do. Unlike the APC and PDP, the Labour Party does not cover the whole of the country.
“They cannot also claim to have the support of the Labour movement. So, they can try but I don’t see them making any significant impact in the presidential election.”
Speaking on his support for Atiku over Tinubu, he said, “We belong to different political parties, even though we are both Yorubas. I have known Tinubu for over 50 years but I cannot support him because we belong to different political parties. He belongs to the APC and I am of the PDP. There is no question of Yoruba race here.
“I am a member of the PDP and our candidate, Atiku Abubakar will win by the grace of God.”
The official campaign for the 2023 general election will commence on September 28, according to Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The race for the 2023 presidential election has four major contenders, Peter Obi, the youth’s choice, a former governor of Anambra state, under the Labour Party (LP); Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president of Nigeria, under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state, under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); and Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano state, under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
