The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has dismissed the claim that its presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso had met with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, on possible support ahead of the February 25 presidential election.
In a 15-minute interview with BBC Hausa service on Tuesday, Atiku claimed that he had met with the duo of Kwankwaso and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in a bid to forge an alliance for the election.
He stressed that one of the two men would likely drop out of the presidential race and declare support for him.
“Although, I see no threat in any of them but we are in talks, and the discussion might yield a positive result that will see one of them coming,” the former Vice President said.
However, the spokesman for the NNPP Presidential Campaign Council, Ladipo Johnson, in a statement, on Wednesday in Abuja, described the PDP candidate’s claim as a false, and mischievous narrative.
Johnson stressed that Abubakar was finding the presidential race tough, hence his desire for a platform to lean on.
He added that Kwankwaso has no plan to withdraw from the race for Abubakar or any other presidential candidate.
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The former Kano State governor and his party had constantly denied reports of an alliance with the former Vice President in the build up to the election.
The statement read: “The fact of the matter is that neither Atiku and Kwankwaso nor their representatives have met in private or at all to discuss any working relationship.
“They have only met during town hall meetings in the last few months!
“Nigerians will recall that earlier in the campaign the false narrative being pushed was that Kwankwaso was only strong in Kano!
“He suddenly has three million members leaving him in the North-East?”
“We are in this race to win and uplift the standard of living of all Nigerians.
“Opponents who have seen the ground game and the grassroots campaign of Kwankwaso now understand, 24 days to the polls, that the voters at the grassroots, the average man and woman, have decided to vote for Kwankwaso and the NNPP as their party of choice.”
