A former Member of the House of Representatives, AbdulMumin Jibrin says Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso cannot be running mate to Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election because he has superior political experience.
Jibrin stated this during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday.
Kwankwaso is vying for the 2023 presidency on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) while Obi is contesting on the Labour Party (LP) platform.
There have been reports of a possible alliance between both candidates ahead of the presidential polls.
However, there has been debate on which of the duo would accept to be running mate to the other in case of an alliance.
Weighing in on the debate, Jibrin said that Kwankwaso should be the presidential flagbearer as he has an “edge” over Obi.
According to him, Kwankwaso will bring 70 percent of the votes if the duo teams up.
“It is public knowledge that we are in talks with Peter Obi. Of which, we believe that it would be able to take care of a lot of things. One, to address the issue of marginalisation of the south-east.
“Secondly, bringing someone with private sector background, of course, a lot of followership that he has among the youths but we are taking that cautiously because that has not been tested in terms of electoral value. From the surface, you are going to agree that he has massive youth followership.
“Very clearly, Kwankwaso will not be a running mate to Peter Obi. By every standard, Kwankwaso should be the presidential candidate. Kwankwaso has more political exposure and experience. He has a big profile when it comes to that. He has more experience politically on how to win elections.
“When you look at it in terms of equity contribution in terms of votes, it will be about a ratio of 70 percent to 30 percent. We are looking at bringing in 70 percent of the contribution.
“Even if it is business, Peter Obi is experienced in business, he knows that whoever is bringing the larger chunk of equity is expected to stay on board. Even if you take away the issue of the totality of vote, that is expected from the northern part of the country, which Kwankwaso is going to bring as a single most popular politician today in the northern part of the country.”