Fresh details have emerged on the closed-door meeting between presidential aspirant, Peter Obi and former President Goodluck Jonathan.
PrimeTimes Nigeria earlier reported that Obi, alongside some Southeast leaders, visited Jonathan at his residence on Monday.
Speaking to Punch, Obi’s former campaign spokesman and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, stated that the visit was aimed at securing support for his principal presidential ambition
He said, “It is a visit to our national leaders and at the same time to appeal to them to give support to the candidature of Peter Obi based on available facts that the Nigerian youths have made up their mind that he is the most preferred candidate.
“And in order to unite this country to ensure that we continue to remain as united as possible, they want to fill in that particular gap of leadership from the southeastern part of this country so that they too can have a feel of belonging since after the Civil War.”
Continuing, Tanko explained that the appeal to Jonathan was strategic, noting Obi’s past role during his presidency and expressing confidence that the former President’s support would significantly boost his principal’s chances.
He argued that the move aligned with similar engagements already extended to northern leaders, including Prof Ango Abdullahi, as part of efforts to build broad-based national support.
“I think it’s a noble objective for us to seek the support of his former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, considering the fact that His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, played a very fundamental role during his tenure as President
“So we felt it was time for him to give us that particular support that would make a lot of sense. The former President is a humble man. And we believe that with his support, it will propel the candidature of Obi to a greater height.
“You’ve seen us do the same thing to our northern brothers, Prof Ango Abdullahi and the rest of them. So we felt it was important to also extend the same thing to His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan.
“That’s exactly what took place today,” he stated.
When asked if the visit was also part of broader consultations to deepen support for Obi and position him as a possible consensus candidate amid ongoing opposition talks, Tanko agreed.
He said, “Of course! You can never stop consultation even till the last minute in policies, except, of course, the day you are sworn in as the President.”
Obi’s media spokesman, Ibrahim Umar, shared a similar position in a terse statement issued after the meeting, noting that the engagement was part of ongoing consultations with former national leaders.
Umar quoted Obi as saying, “We need to consult them, especially someone like him (Jonathan) who served the country very faithfully, focused, and did what is expected in a democracy. In this declining situation, you consult him.”
According to him, Obi had earlier met with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, among others, as part of his nationwide consultations.