2023 Election: 3 Reasons Obasanjo's endorsement will gather little or no votes for Peter Obi
- The endorsement of Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, by former president Olusegun Obasanjo may not have any significance to boost ex-governor's candidacy in the 2023 election
- Obasanjo might have endorsed candidates in the past and worked well but his preferred candidate lost in 2019
- There are three other reasons why Obasanjo's endorsement of Peter Obi might make no significant impact to boost his chances in the 2023 election
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Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, on January 1st, 2023, is nothing but a new year gift from the former president to Nigerians.
The endorsement was greeted with criticism from many of Peter Obi’s opponents including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Source: Twitter
The obvious development is the fact that Obi has won the heart of many Nigerian youths, particularly in the south but a lot of factors may not let him secure the number one seat in the 2023 poll.
Some of the factors are explained below:
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Lack of structure
When it comes to winning the election, the structure is one major factor that commands votes for any key political positions in Nigeria’s political milieu.
Peter Obi is running under a platform that did not have a governor or member of national or state assembly but it is hoped that a miracle will happen because Obi is in Labour Party.
Insecurity in southeast
Southeast is one region that could have been a strong voting bloc for the former governor of Anambra but different Biafra agitations are already threatening election in the region and reducing the chances of Oi by extension.
Obviously, Obi would perform well in the southeast region in the February election but the consistent attack on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s offices had sent a signal to the electorates to stay indoors during the poll.
Obasanjo’s fading political relevance
The political relevance of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in the southwest is fastly fading. Although Obasanjo’s endorsements had worked in the past, he supported Atiku Abubakar in 2019 against the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and he failed.
Currently, Obasanjo did not belong to any political party as the PDP and APC continued to struggle to win the southwest and south-south regions. Political pundits have observed that the ruling party is getting stronger in the north.
Thus, the former president has no physical political strength in any of the 6 regions to command votes for his endorsed presidential candidate.
Source: Legit.ng
