The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has announced pastor Isaac Idahosa as the running mate of its presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso.
“Our VP Pastor Bishop Isaac Idahosa from Edo State,” NNPP tweeted on Thursday.
Issac Idahosa is the presiding Bishop and the senior pastor of God First Ministry popularly known as Illumination Assembly, Lekki Light Centre (LLC), Lagos.
Kwankwaso’s choice comes after a failed negotiation with Labour Party for a joint ticket with Peter Obi, a former Anambra State governor.
Obi’s refusal to be Kwankwaso’s running mate also ended the two political parties’ alliance talks as they had announced earlier that they were in talks on reaching an alliance ahead of the 2023 elections.
Labour Party had also requested Kwankwaso to be running mate to Obi but the former Kano State governor turned down the offer.
Kwankwaso argued that northern voters will not vote for Obi if he is made the standard bearer of the merger of the two parties.
“The implication is if you put somebody from the south-east, unfortunately, there are many issues in the south-east,” Kwankwaso said on Channels Television.
“You see, northern voters are the worst hit by this country’s maladministration issue. Even under that circumstance, a northern voter also believes that he is better as a one united Nigeria.”