Elder statesman and former Transport Minister, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has declared his support for former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, whom he said is the best presidential candidate and his most preferred choice for the presidency come 2023.
Babatope made the declaration during his interview with The Sun Newspapers, where he stated that the main focus of the PDP in the 2023 elections is competence and capacity, not zoning.
He explained that Peter Obi has the capacity to make fundamental changes that can turn around the country for better. Babatope opined that judging from Obi’s pedigree and track records of success in governance, he will do more, when given a bigger political platform.
When asked to comment on the chances of PDP presidential aspirants, like Atiku Abubakar, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Anyim Pius Anyim, Peter Obi and others, the PDP chieftain stated that Obi has the brightest chances of emerging the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
“I have no grudges against other aspirants. They are all qualified to contest. Atiku contested the last time. Of course, he has the right to contest again. The space can contain everyone. But if I have a chance to make a preference, I will go for Peter Obi. I love Peter Obi, I must tell you. I have said this time without number. It doesn’t matter where the candidate is from. What matters is the pedigree and capacity of the person to make fundamental changes that will take the country higher. I love Peter Obi. He is an economist and beyond that, he is a political realist,” Babatope said.
Speaking on the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming elections, Babatope said: “We have done some ground work after losing power in 2015. We know the mistakes we made that cost us power. We have learnt from them and are determined not to repeat those mistakes. We have also assembled a very powerful team. We have the brightest brains. I am happy at the quality of most of the presidential aspirants”.
