A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, gave insight into the emergence of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the PDP ticket in the 2019 elections.
The member of the Strategic Communications Directorate of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Anthony Ehilebo, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said former President Olusegun Obasanjo recommended Obi for the slot.
“In 2019, he supported our candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, but I’ll tell you a backstory that people hardly know. People don’t even know that he was the one that recommended his present candidate of choice to Atiku Abubakar as a condition for supporting him in 2019.
“That was the plan: ‘have these two people run on the platform, so that you [Atiku] can mentor him and by the time he comes of age, he’ll be able to [run for president],” he said.
Criticising Obasanjo’s New Year endorsement of the former Anambra State governor in the 2023 elections, Ehilebo said he would have preferred for the former president to “be an elder statesman” and prioritise experience and capacity.
The PDP stalwart also took issue with the ex-president’s choice based on his assessment of the state of the nation at the time he exited the presidency in 2007 in comparison the polity at present.
“I read the letter where he said the situation and the scenarios are quite different. Respectfully, I beg to differ with the General because when you look at 1999 to 2007, the scenarios are similar and when you want to deal with an issue such as the Nigerian malady that we face today, you must bring in experience, you must bring in capacity.
“President Obasanjo has, in time past, praised Atiku Abubakar for handling the economy while he was going around the world trying to repair the image of Nigeria.
“Atiku explains how they ran government and how he was able to bring in experts like Bode Agusto who he got to run on the government based his affinity for Nigeria, his love for the country.
“And without commensurate pay, he agreed to work for the government of Obasanjo, same thing with people like Soludo, the eggheads that we had in the Obasanjo government. This was after an intense nine month period of developing an economic blueprint.
“Now, you wouldn’t say Nigeria is in that same position and you don’t want to use the (same approach), maybe for some reason. I’ve had extensive conversations with the General and I think his heart is in a good place; he has the best interests of Nigeria at heart,” he said.
