A political analyst in Zamfara State, Alhaji Umar Mohammed, has said that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi is not a grassroots politician even though he is making great waves in Nigeria’s politics.
In an exclusive interview in Gusau, the state capital, Alhaji Mohammed noted that for one to be a great politician, he has to spread his tentacles everywhere.
“Search everywhere in Sokoto and Zamfara states, you cannot find any structure or secretariat of Labour party (LP), even though the party is one of the strongest contenders ahead of 2023 general elections,” he added.
“We all know very well that Labour Party did not make Peter Obi, but he made the party. Before now, nobody knew the existence of the Labour Party.
“But as Obi was made the party’s presidential candidate, the party became so powerful, and it is now a party to be reckoned with.”
Alhaji Mohammed explained that Peter Obi has a chance because of the internal crisis rocking both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He explained that the multifaceted problems of the ruling APC ranging from insecurity, abject poverty, high cost of living, Muslim-Muslim ticket, corruption, etc, would negatively affect the ruling APC.
“From all indications, Nigerians are tired of APC government due to lingering terrorism affecting lives, properties, and legitimate business activities of innocent citizens of the country,” he added.
Speaking further, the analyst said that the APC still has an unsettled issue of sidelining the northern Christians, who he said have warned Christians not to cast their votes for the party in 2023.
On the part of the PDP, the southern part of the country has been lamenting that the entire leadership structure is in the hands of the north. He said the presidential candidate and the chairman being from the same region is unacceptable to many members.
Mohammed noted that these are avenues for Wike and his Labour to utilize and runaway with landslide victory in the 2023 general elections, saying there are still political cracks within APC and PDP.
According to him, Mr. Peter Obi may create surprises in the 2023 presidential election because his growing popularity has been brought into sharp focus, which even the ruling APC and PDP are very much afraid of.
“This Peter Obi’s first time of contesting for the country’s presidential race and he is pulling such crowd everywhere even if he losses, he has created record,” he added.