Why we picked woman as my running mate – LP presidential candidate, Okereke

The Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, Dr Chibuzor Okereke, says the choice of Hajia Bintu Konto as his running mate in the 2027 presidential election was based on merit, competence and the need to ensure an inclusive government.

Okereke stated this while featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Personality Interview Series on Sunday in Abuja.

He described Labour Party as the only party with a female national chairman, female vice-presidential candidate, female legal adviser and female national organising secretary.

“The level of women representation in the party structure is a demonstration of the foundational principles and philosophy of Labour Party,” he said.

Okereke said it was the belief of the party that women should be given leadership opportunities and not suppressed.

“Hajia Bintu Konto was not nominated only because she is a woman, but because she has the competence and the capacity, and has shown demonstrable leadership as a public health specialist over the years.

“In politics, you have to be calculating and also plotting beyond campaigns to deliver good governance and leadership.

“So we looked at qualities of individuals, the political reality of the country and geo-political balancing, among other considerations, before her choice.

“She was picked because we believe in inclusion; we believe that sidelining women who are almost half of the Nigerian population is an attempt to clap with one hand.

“It is an attempt to under-utilise our God-given resources; it is an attempt not to function at an optimal level.

“So we believe that her nomination brings balance to the ticket in all ramifications – qualification, inclusion, capacity, competence, ability to complement my own skills and be able to deliver good governance to Nigerians,” he said.

According to him, scholars from the northern region agree that women, especially of Muslim faith, need to be given opportunities to rise.

Okereke, who noted that women’s representation across northern Nigeria was very low, said that most of the state Houses of Assembly, were dominated by men.

He said that culturally and religiously, there was a quest to unleash the potential of women.

He further stated that the party believed that nominating Konto would inspire and give opportunities to young women, Muslims and Christians alike, from the north to look up to her as a role model.

“We are confident that giving the northern people something new, something fresh, as she has been in the development sector mobilising, organising, being a humanitarian person and has impacted people genuinely, and they are looking forward to empowering her to do more,” he said.

Okereke said that though former Gov. Peter Obi is no longer in Labour Party, it still retained the six million-vote advantage it garnered in 2023.

He said that as presidential candidate, he inherited both the assets and liabilities of the party, and having fixed the internal crisis that had rocked the party, the six million votes received in 2023 was still counting in his favour.

According to him, as a former student union president, a former Senator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), a former member of the Nigerian Youth Assembly, he is strongly connected to the youth who voted for the party in 2023.

The presidential candidate said that the party had adopted the governance template of its national leader, Gov. Alex Otti of Abia, and would replicate the same at the national level to bring happiness to all Nigerians.