The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that it is not concerned or threatened by a potential partnership between Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In an interview with The Punch on Monday, the APC’s National Publicity Director, Bala Ibrahim, claimed that the much-touted Obi-Kwankwaso alliance would collapse again, as it did before the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, a lack of trust will always exist between Obi and Kwankwaso, and neither will be willing to give up their desire to become president.
Chronicle NG reported that Kwankwaso, in a recent post, said he would not mind being Obi’s running mate in 2027 if certain conditions, which he did not disclose, were met.
Responding on Sunday, the Labour Party’s National Secretary, Umar Farouk, welcomed Kwankwaso’s offer, saying the merger could work provided Kwankwaso was humble enough to collaborate with Obi.
However, when asked about the anticipated Obi-Kwankwaso collaboration against President Bola Tinubu in 2027, APC National Publicity Director Ibrahim stated that the partnership will not be implemented.
He contended that the elements that destroyed the prospective partnership in 2023 were still very much alive.
Ibrahim said, “The underlying and most important factor in that permutation is the word trust, which will be the bane of their agreement.
“These are experiments that have been conducted several times, and the results cannot be expected to change unless the factor responsible for that result changes.
“If you don’t change the factor and you carry out the same experiment under the same condition, expecting a different result, you are only deceiving yourself. This is a scientific procedure.
“Now, Kwankwaso and Peter Obi have tried forming an alliance in the past on several occasions, but their romance didn’t last beyond the bedroom.
“This is because they are strange bedfellows who can’t sleep in the same room. Both of them have one ambition—to lead the country at all costs—and neither is willing to surrender the seat to the other simply because there is this superiority complex between them.
“As long as that complex exists, and it is not likely to diminish, there is not going to be any change to warrant the APC having sleepless nights.
“What they are proposing now is just rhetoric because they are seeing the progress the APC is making and the changes happening in the political scene.
“They know that come 2027, the victory of the APC is fait accompli. All they are making is just noise to survive. It is also the ranting of a party destined for doom. So, there is nothing there to give the APC any worry at all. It is a merger that won’t come to pass.”
Abdullahi Ibrahim, National Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, described the projected Obi-Kwankwaso partnership as a positive move.
Ibrahim told The Punch that the PDP would support any discussions on an alliance or merger that would free Nigerians from the current hardships and the stranglehold of the APC-led government.
He said, “It is a welcome development. We were the ones who started the discussion at the instance of the PDP, when the major opposition figures met to review the state of the nation.
“If there is anything we expect from the opposition going forward, it is for them to close ranks and ensure they chart a common cause, whether it is the Peter Obi-led Labour Party, Kwankwaso’s NNPP, or the PDP that is prepared to lead the direction.
“At least, we are the major opposition and have been in power before at the centre for 16 years. Presently, we have 13 governors, including the FCT (under Nyesom Wike), making it 14.
“As of the last count, Wike has still not declared his intention to leave the PDP. So, on account of these things, we are still the major opposition party in the country, and for that reason, we are charting the course.
“As earlier said, it is commendable regardless of the fact that it is not our political party. It is in the interest of this country for those who have the wherewithal to ensure they salvage the people from despair and despondency, which seem to have taken over the land. Of course, Nigerians no longer want these people in power and can’t wait to see the back of the APC because of the insensitivity that characterises their way of doing things.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
