The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has indicated why he cannot accept to be the running mate of any presidential candidate in next year’s presidential election.

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, who made the declaration in Gombe, Gombe State at the weekend said he cannot accept such a proposition because it would lead to the collapse of the NNPP.

A statement by the Kwankwaso Campaign Organisation said the NNPP presidential flag bearer was in the state to inaugurate the state office of NNPP and to meet with elected members of the party.

The NNPP candidate who made the declaration in an apparent reference to the reported merger talks between his party and the Labour Party (LP) said his political profile built over the years and his wealth of experience having served in various capacities helped in bringing the party to limelight within a short time.

Kwankwaso said with the fame the NNPP has achieved within the short time, anything short of his presidency on the platform of the party would mean the collapse of the NNPP. He confirmed that his party had been in talks with the LP for a possible merger but the main issue that hindered progress was the issue of who becomes the presidential candidate.

The statement added: “From the discussion with Labour Party, the main issue was who becomes the president if the parties merge. At the end of the day, some of our representatives thought that there should be a criterion in terms of age, qualification, offices held, performance and so on.

“Of course, the other side wouldn’t want that. Most people from there believe that the president has to come from there (the Southeast). If I decide to be a vice-presidential candidate to anybody in this country; the NNPP will collapse, because the party is based on what we have built in the last 30 years.

“I served for 17 years as a civil servant; we are talking of 47 years of very serious hard work that is what is rarely holding NNPP now.”

The national leader of the NNPP said he was not against the presidency going to any part of the country but it must be done based on “strategy, political calculation and equation”.

Kwankwaso said the Southeast is good in business and is well talented but they should learn politics, “in politics, they are at the bottom line”.

He said the Southeast lost out on the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) but had a chance with the NNPP. He added that those saying “even if my friend (Peter Obi) wants to accept vice presidential candidate, some people in the Southeast will not accept, that is not strategic”.

He said the APC presidential flag bearer in next year’s election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was strategic to have supported the APC in 2015 and “today he is the presidential candidate of the APC.”

Kwankwaso said the best option for the Southeast was for the zone to partner with the NNPP, “this is a golden opportunity, if they lose it, it will be a disaster”.

On the choice of his running mate, Kwankwaso said “we have options in the NNPP in the south to pick a good vice president and one of them is the Labour Party man you are talking about.”

On the chances of NNPP in the election, Kwankwaso said his party had the structure, organisation and population across the country to contest and win elections. He added that if elected president next year, his vision would be to create opportunities for the youths to get employed, achieve their dreams and be empowered educationally and economically.