A professor of political economy, Pat Utomi, has given the reasons why he stepped down for former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, during the Labour Party (LP) presidential primary on Monday.
Recall, Prof Pat Utomi on Monday withdrew from the race to support the presidential ambition of former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.
The former governor consequently emerged victorious in the race for the party’s presidential ticket.
Speaking about his reason for stepping down, Utomi in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday disclosed that his decision to give up his aspiration in favour of Mr Obi was based on “a variety of factors.”
He stated that he has been looking for an “alternative and creative” political platform that will challenge the dominance of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and opposition PDP to usher in an era of credible leadership in Nigeria.
He further added that he is in touch with other parties for a possible alliance to provide a better political alternative to Nigerians
“Having gotten that momentum going, somebody asked me, ‘you just woke up one morning and then gave it to somebody who just came from somewhere?’ I said no. You got to put more thought into this.
“First of all, it is going to need a remarkable level of work involving everybody for us to get to where we are hoping we can get to next year. People need to come together and one of the things I teach is that in finding how to overcome certain things, be the first to show an example.
“I thought that if I show an example by saying, ‘look, hey, it is not about me’ that people will learn something from it. So, that disposes me, first and foremost, of wanting to show the possibility with a personal example,” he explained.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News
