The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, has reacted to claims that he offered the standard bearer of New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, N40 billion to step down for him.
The former Anambra state governor said there’s no iota of truth in such speculation.
Obi spoke on Monday at an interactive forum with the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, in Lagos.
Obi disclosed that he had never tried to actualise his presidential ambition through inducing people with money
He said: “I never knowingly or unknowingly, offered anybody money to become president. In all my talks with Kwankwaso, I never offered him any money.”
The former Anambra governor also clarified that nobody was funding his campaigns. “Nobody as at today will say he’s funding Peter Obi. I’m funding myself. I don’t pay people to work for me.”
In the days that followed Obi declaration to run for presidency in 2023 and eventual clinching of the Labour Party ticket, there were reports that he and Kwankwaso could forge and alliance.
But the alliance didn’t materialise due to what Kwankwaso later described as irreconcilable differences.
Kwankwaso on Sunday told newsmen in Lagos that he would have been more than happy if his party and LP had reached a compromise and formed an alliance. He added that the issue of run-off in the 2023 election would not have arise because their combination would have been a formidable one and that they would be victorious in the election.