I prefer younger running mate – Peter Obi
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, opened up on his choice of running mate, saying he preferred a younger person as vice-presidential candidate.
The former Anambra State governor stated this while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show.
He added that he prefers a younger person who has something to offer to complement his ticket rather than recycling old hands who had been in the government before now.
When asked to clarify social media rumours that he had picked a businessman and politician, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as his vice-presidential candidate, Obi noted that though consultations are ongoing, he was yet to pick a running mate.
He said, “We’re talking to a quite number of people and Baba-Ahmed is a capable hand and I wish he is the one. But I wish I can work with somebody who is more younger.
“I prefer younger people with fresh ideas who have a lot to offer rather than recycling old hands. I want a competent person and I am building a formidable team.
“I want people who can look me in the eye and disagree with me during cabinet meetings. People who have their own minds and ideas. If you agree with me in three meetings then you are gone because that means you don’t have your own ideas. I want people and cabinet members who can say ‘Mr. President, you are wrong’.”
On when he will release his manifesto, he said rather than a manifesto, he had practiced all that he is preaching and the records are there for Nigerians to verify.
“How can I hire professors to write or draft policy documents for me that I don’t even believe in?
“I have replicated all that I am promising Nigerians before. It would be the same thing. What I did in Anambra and what I achieved is what we will replicate on a larger scale. We want Nigeria to become the engine of production,” the presidential candidate said.
On the campaign of calumny on social media, Obi alleged that his opponents had paid some people online to malign his campaign team by infiltrating his core supporters and spreading falsehoods online.
The former Peoples Democratic Party chieftain noted that despite the campaigns of calumny online and rumours that northerners won’t vote for him during the 2023 election, he believed that Nigerians and people from the north will vote for him based on competence.
“I am contesting to be Nigeria’s president to solve the country’s problem and not because I am from a part or region of the country.
“We need to do things that will bring people hope. Nigerians must be proud of this country and that is what I planned to do,” he added.