Prince Ned Nwoko, the Delta North senator-elect, has explicitly stated that the Labour Party’s (LP) poor assessment of situation and unrealistic expectations, by implication capacitated the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential victory.
Nwoko made the assertion during an interview session with newsmen in Abuja. He noted that, this is the first time an unpopular government won an election with a very slight margin, significantly less than usual because the oppositions were disarrayed.
He pinned the blame on Labour Party and ‘Obidients’, stressing that they were too self-absorbed to give room for logical reasoning.
Recall that in June 2022, in an interview with BBC, Nwoko predicted that Labour Party will suffer defeat in the presidential election, pointing out factors that will work against the emergence of LP presidency.
In the interview, Nwoko acknowledged that, though Peter Obi of Labour Party was making impact but cannot imagine the swell of support translating into victory, noting that he does not have the national spread.
He further explained that Obi does not have the structure at the National Assembly, vital for effective governance.
However, Nwoko, during the interview, posited that Peter Obi would operate efficiently as a minister of economy, describing him as a capitalist and a big time player in the business world.
Responding in a recent interview with newsmen in Abuja, on Thursday, the senator-elect maintained that the sitting government would have suffered severe defeat in the presidential poll if the oppositions had aligned.
“It would have been a landslide victory for the opposition if Labour Party and PDP had worked together.
“The Obidients were too self-absorbed to listen to logical reasoning. The result came just as I predicted.
“This is the first time in history that a party won the presidency with a very low margin.
“Do your calculations, merge the PDP and Labour Party presidential results, you see that APC wouldn’t have come close to winning.
“Labour Party’s refusal to form an alliance with PDP lent APC the chance to be in power for another four years,” Nwoko stated.
Speaking on the proposed mode of leadership and division of power between PDP and Labour Party if the alliance had worked out, he said, “If the alliance had worked out, there would have been division of power between PDP and Labour Party.
“As I suggested earlier, the Obidients would take charge and manage every ministry pertaining to economy, including finance and making national budgets.
“Their principal, Peter Obi has done remarkably well in the business world. He has the prerequisite experience to revamp Nigeria’s economy.”
Nwoko reiterated that an alliance government would have been the perfect opportunity for Obi to “save” Nigeria’s economy as he vowed in his campaigns.
He stated that, it is near impossible to stop Bola Tinubu from becoming president despite the petitions signed against him, once inaugurated.
“Once Tinubu is inaugurated as president, he takes charge of everything. He becomes the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He orders them and uses them as he wishes. He appoints new Chief Justice upon recommendation by the judicial council.
“So you see, it is almost impossible to stop him from completing his four years tenure.
“Moving forward, PDP and Labour Party have to come to terms and make next election more strategic. Natural alliance between both parties is the only way to save Nigeria from this inauspicious government.”