Politics Presidency of Nigeria is Not For Small Boys- Nwanywanwu

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Chief Dan Nwanywanwu, pioneer and outgoing National Chairman of the Labour Party, in an interview with PUNCH spoke on the 2015 elections, his party's lack of Presidential candidate and the rumoured defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko from the Labour Party, LP to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

On the rumoured defection of Mimiko, Nwanywanwu said, "I have heard so many rumours on that. The first time I heard a rumour about it was immediately after the inauguration in 2009. As we were leaving the podium, I heard that he was going to ACN (the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria). I was confronted by journalists and I said he was going nowhere. They said again that he was going to PDP. So these rumours have been there. I’m not foreclosing his defection. I’m not speaking for him, but this rumour has been in the mill since 2009.

"What I can tell you is that as of now, as I am talking to you, Governor Mimiko is a governor of the Labour Party and that was why you saw him in the NEC meeting of the party yesterday (September 10). It is never known to be the practice that the governors of other political parties attend NEC meetings of other political parties. The day he leaves the party, you won’t see him in the NEC. So that was why I made the explanation yesterday – he was there live and direct – and I put those questions to him and he answered.

On why the Labour party was yet to have a Presidential candidate, Nwanywanwu said, "Labour Party has never refused to have a presidential candidate. We do not manufacture presidential candidates. It is not like going to the factory to produce an object. Nigerians believe that they can only win presidential election when they join big parties with money. The last time, some people came, and when we asked them to pay nomination fee, they could not. They crashed out and attempted to blackmail the party".

"I’m telling you the summary of what happened during the last presidential election. I don’t understand why someone could think he could wake up one day and contest for the presidency of Nigeria. Presidency of Nigeria is not for small boys. If you don’t have money, you must have people who will put down the money for you to be able to move from one state to the other, from one local government to the other, you cannot trek. It requires money. You have to open offices. In the riverine areas, you need boats to be hired and chartered. You don’t even have money for nomination fee and you want to contest for Presidency. Labour Party will not give ticket to such characters, who will go for presidential election and score 1,000 votes in a country of 170 million people. Such result in an election reduces the fortune of the party. I mean such result brings down the prospect of the party.

Click here to read full interview

SOURCE: #Punch

#LP #Mimiko #Nwanywanwu #Ogun #PDP

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