I Prefer a Younger Person as a Running Mate – Peter Obi
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said he preferred a younger person as his running mate for the 2023 poll.
He started this on Wednesday while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show.
The former Anambra State governor stated 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.
Responding to his vice-presidential candidate choice on 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 quiet 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 minds and ideas. If you agree with me in three meetings, then you are gone because that means you don’t have your ideas. I want people and cabinet members who can say, ‘Mr. President, you are wrong’.”
Speaking further, Obi pointed out that he had practised all that he was preaching, and the records are there for Nigerians to verify and do not need to show such records in a manifesto.
“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 production engine,” the presidential candidate said.
Obi claimed that his opponents had hired some individuals to post false information online about his campaign team by infiltrating his loyal followers.
He said that Nigerians and people from the north will vote for him based on competence in the 2023 election, despite the online smear campaigns and claims that they won’t.
“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.