By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The chances of the Labour Party flag bearer Peter Gregory Obi of becoming Nigeria’s President after the tenure of the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be getting brighter by the day as he has been receiving more endorsements from prominent Nigerian leaders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) as well as Benue State Governor, all coming in quick successions.
This is even as Obi has again dusted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a fresh survey conducted by Market Trends International (MTI) on all presidential candidates in the 2023 has put Obi ahead of other contenders, including Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Omoyele Sowore of African Action Congress among others.
MTI, a market research organisation, which has been operating in Nigeria and other African countries for over 30 years and which is also skilled in both qualitative and quantitative studies, is the latest of the polls both local and international, which placed Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, ahead of , among others.
Victor Ozinegbe Ebhomenye, Executive Director, MTI, who said 44 per cent of the respondents indicated that they would likely vote Obi, the former governor of Anambra State in the 2023 presidential election, reports: “This may have come as a surprise to Nigerians because the Labour Party and Obi had no presence in Nigerian presidential scene as at December 2021.”
He said the survey, conducted between November 9 and 29, 2022, indicated that Tinubu had 19 per cent respondents, Atiku had 16 respondents; Kwankwaso had 14 per cent respondents, Sowore had zero per cent, others had five per cent, while those that refused and undecided had one per cent each.
Ebhomenye said: “Obi has picked up pace in the race since he declared interest to run with the Labour Party as the party’s presidential candidate at its national convention and presidential primary in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, on Monday, May 30 after other aspirants, like former presidential adviser, Pat Utomi; Faduri Joseph and Olubusola Emmanuel-Tella, stepped down.
“With Obi’s emergence, the party received boosts to achieve lasting alliance talks with NNPP (this alliance is said to have collapsed at the moment; Zenith Labour Party; Allied Peoples Movement; National Rescue Movement; Peoples Redemption Party, and African Democratic Congress, among others before the February 2023 presidential race.”
He said the proposed alliance had halted the APC and PDP from dominating the upcoming elections, adding that the PDP was initially seen as the most popular party to win the 2023 presidential election as at December 2021, with 52 per cent of respondents.
“When asked whom they will vote for, 28 per cent of respondents leaned towards voting for the PDP. However, findings show that 45 per cent of respondents were undecided and did not know which party they would vote for as at December 2021,” MTI further said.
According to the agency, ever since the loss of the party’s presidential ticket in May 2022 and being overlooked as the running mate of the flag-bearer, Atiku, Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; and four other PDP governors (popularly known as the G5 Governors) have constituted themselves into an opposition within the PDP.
“It is believed these G5 Governors- Wike, Seyi Makinde; Samuel Ortom; Okezie Ikpeazu; and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi- discreetly withdrew their support for Atiku and this could be one factor to explain the drastic fall in support for the PDP. This has also contributed to Tinubu and Obi gaining more grounds in the upcoming presidential election race.
“Furthermore, when asked to advise the incoming president on challenges to tackle immediately he assumes office, Nigerians advised the incoming president to make insecurity (46 per cent), collapsed economy (20 per cent), and unemployment (18 per cent) his top priority, this order tallies with the previous survey results.
“Insecurity in Nigeria is a recurring phenomenon that threatens our well-being. The South-West is plagued by a surge in cyber crime, armed robbery, kidnapping, domestic crime, extra-judicial killings, herder-farmer conflicts, ritual killings and banditry.
“The South East is a haven for ritual killings, commercial crime, secessionist agitation, kidnapping, herder-farmer clashes, attacks by gunmen and banditry.
“The South south remains threatened by militancy, kidnapping and environmental agitation. The North East has been subject to a humanitarian crisis lasting over a decade, caused by the Boko Haram insurgency and the Islamic State in the West Africa Province.
“Meanwhile, the North West is enmeshed in illegal mining, ethno-religious killings, and banditry,” MTI said.
