The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), had, in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle, @fkeyamo, quoted an online medium that claimed that Obi and Atiku had a pact, alleging that the former would step down at the heat of the campaign and urge his supporters to vote for Atiku in 2023.
Keyamo, posting the link of the story, with the headline, ‘Obi agrees to deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence’, wrote, “We told the OBIdient soldiers that their ‘hero’ was taking them to nowhere; taking them for a ride of the century and for political 419! We laugh! We are ahead of them.”
Another staunch Atiku supporter, identified as a member of the Atikukawai Media Group, Adamawa Lastborn, wrote in response to a tweet by Doyin Okupe, the Director-General of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, “You were not informed? Okay, continue. Obi is a great member of Atiku’s political family. I am sure you are one of us. You don’t love Obi more than us. I am confident PO (Peter Obi) will support #Atiku4SURE. Na family issue (sic). It isn’t for strangers like you. Let’s get #Atikulated.”
Reacting to this, Okupe said the claims by the medium and Keyamo were false.
In a statement on Twitter, Okupe wrote, “By the grace of God and the massive acceptance and support of the Nigerian people home and abroad, and especially the youths, Obi is far ahead of all other presidential candidates in the country
“He, therefore, cannot, logically, be negotiating with any other less popular candidate(s) or their parties. Members of the public are hereby advised to ignore this cheap, self-serving and distracting propaganda, which we also believe is not coming from the Atiku camp.”
Also reacting, the spokesperson, Peter Obi Support Network, Mr Jones Onwuasoanya, said, “If there was any arrangement between Atiku and Obi, it would be that the former will step down for the latter.”
According to Onwuasoanya, Obi is more patriotic and has proven ideas to rescue Nigeria from bad governance.