Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), believes it is improper for anybody regarded as a statesman to endorse candidates before of Nigeria’s presidential election on February 25.

“I want to advise our leaders, they should stop disgracing themselves. We have so much respect for them. If you say you don’t like me, no problem,” the former Kano State governor said on Wednesday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Governor Godwin Obaseki welcomed Kwankwaso at the Government House ahead of the start of his presidential campaign in the state.

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Edwin Clark, Ijaw national leader and coordinator of PANDEF, have both backed Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) standard bearer, in recent days.

The endorsement attracted criticism from the main political parties, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) calling it “worthless,” and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claiming it does not represent Nigerians’ views.