A member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has expressed confidence that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will have an easier task in the 2027 election than he did in 2023.
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, polled 6.1 million votes to finish third behind Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 6.9 million votes, and the eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 8.7 million votes.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Yesufu said the support base popularly known as the Obidients had done significant groundwork during the 2023 election, which she believes would make the 2027 contest easier for Obi.
“2027 is even easier than 2023. 2023 you know you had to put in all that work, ‘let start it and see.’ By the time we had the former governor of Edo State, he really helped us without knowing he helped us by refusing to allow us to have all those halls and everything and Edo people coming out to say, ‘hey we are doing this.’
“That was when we had that shift when people saw that this is possible, a new Nigeria is possible. But right now, everybody has seen it, Mr Peter Obi all over the country,” Yesufu said.
She also pointed to the alliance between Obi and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as another development that could strengthen the party’s chances in 2027.
“We have this alliance that has come between the Obidients and the Kwankwasiyya and you are seeing Mr Peter Obi’s running mate Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso bringing in a whole lot into the union.”
Yesufu further argued that the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians could influence voters’ decisions in the 2027 election.
She added that the widespread hardship in the country had become a major concern for Nigerians, who now realise that religious considerations, such as a Muslim-Muslim ticket, would not put food on their tables, suggesting that the situation could influence them to vote against the current government.
‘Obi most courageous Nigerian politician’
Peter Obi’s convoy was stopped by youths in Benue State on Tuesday as he travelled along the Gboko-Makurdi road to Yelwata, where he was scheduled to visit communities and families affected by recent violence.
The development sparked suggestions in some quarters that Obi should have proceeded with his planned visit to Yelwata despite the incident.
However, Yesufu said the decision to discontinue the journey was a strategic one and had nothing to do with fear.
She described the NDC presidential candidate as the most courageous politician in Nigeria, citing his previous visits to areas affected by insecurity.
“I have said this many times, there is no politician in Nigeria that is as courageous as Mr Peter Gregory Obi. That same Yelwata that he was going to, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not go there the last time if I am not mistaken, where he said the road or whatever was bad.
“He went to Jos, that is someone who is supposedly called the Commander in Chief, he couldn’t even enter Jos. Mr Peter Obi has been to Benue before, this time he was going to that same Yelwata but you need to understand something, there is a place where someone has to be strategic. You have a lot of things to do, so if you are fighting people who don’t have work, it doesn’t make any sense at that moment,” Yesufu added.
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