Peter Obi’s Camp Denies Planned Merger With Atiku, Kwankwaso

The National Secretary of Labour Party, Umar Farouk, and Tai Obasi, media aide to LP flag bearer, Peter Obi have denied knowledge of an ongoing merger arrangement with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and his counterpart in the New Nigeria People’s Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The duo made the rebuttal in two separate interviews with Punch.

This was even as the ruling All Progressives Congress boasted that President Bola Tinubu will have no problem beating the trio again if the motive was to stop him from winning the 2027 presidential poll.

The development is coming in the wake of media reports that the trio of Atiku, Kwankwaso and Obi has opened a preliminary discussion on a possible merger with the ultimate goal of setting up a formidable platform that can unseat the ruling party.

Reacting, Farouk told Punch correspondent that there was no iota of truth in the report.

The LP national secretary disclosed that much as the party respects the privacy of its presidential candidate to associate with anybody, he vowed that Labour Party will never merge with any other political platform.

He, however, did rule out the possibility of an alliance.

“That is not true. I think it is the imagination of the writer. It has not come to us as a party. Whatever is going on, if at all it is true, Peter Obi is probably doing that as a candidate, which he has a right to do and associate with whoever he wants to associate with.

“But as a party, we are not thinking of a merger with any political party. And Labour Party will never merge with any party.

“Whatever the issue may be, we cannot take any decision until after the judgment of our election petition at the tribunal. But as a I mentioned earlier, count LP out of any merger with political parties. Alliance may be possible though,” he stated.