The Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, October 12, 2018 picked former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, as his running mate in the 2019 general elections.
CONFIRMED | @atiku picks Peter Obi as his Vice Presidential Candidate. For @OfficialPDPNig, it's Atiku/Obi 2019. #NigeriaDecides2019 pic.twitter.com/p9smYQidav
— SIGNAL News Global (@thesignalng) October 12, 2018
The 57-year old billionaire businessman is the immediate past governor of Anambra. He has been considered as a contender for Atiku’s VP slot even before the PDP primary election held.
Obi has been on a media campaign to cast himself as one of the best performing governors of Anambra and prudent in managing the economy of his state.
He has a strong name recognition because of his media outings in the past three years especially on the Christian October 1 forum, The Platfom. In his celebrated appearance at the conference, Obi cast himself as the man “with one wristwatch”, a claim that was discredited by social media users.
Analysts say that an Atiku/Obi ticket complements the business credentials of the two men.
On the downside, Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano has edged him out of local Anambra politics and is rumoured to be plotting to endorse Buhari’s reelection in the 2019 elections. It appears with this development, that Governor Obiano may endorse Buhari and work against making his former political godfather become a vice president.
Obi, is also unpopular with the Igbo elite, according to an analysis.
