The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised doubts over the electoral value of the endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by elder statesmen, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Others who have thrown their weight behind Obi amid the ongoing election campaigns are the leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo; and Niger Delta leader, Edwin Clark.
However, a member of the Media and Publicity Committee, PDP PCC, Tunde Olusunle, during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Politics on Wednesday, called to question the timing of Obasanjo’s endorsement in particular.
“Perhaps if this endorsement was coming before now, or perhaps if Obasanjo actually went out of his way to help in a leadership grooming and recruitment process, maybe things would have been a lot better [for LP],” he said.
“The endorsement of Obasanjo, Baba Adebanjo, Edwin Clark [is] fine, but what does this translate into? On the day of the election, everybody holds his PVC, goes to the polling unit, casts his vote.
“Unfortunately, as we are today, not too many leaders are going to have people queueing with them to the polling station.
“If you’ve been watching social media in the last few days, people have been critiquing Obasanjo saying, ‘When you supported the PDP, years ago, in your own polling unit, PDP did as much as maybe 20 votes, while the APC did 87. Meanwhile, on that occasion, you didn’t even support the APC.’”
According to Olusunle, critics of the former president are trying to send him a message that victory goes beyond verbal pronouncements.
“[By] May this year, it would be 16 years since Obasanjo left office. A lot has happened in between: new allegiances, stronger convictions by the people, people have gone through a lot, become more single-minded, decided to take their own fate in their hands.
“Yes, it is good for the optics, but I don’t really know whether it’s going to become much on polls day,” he said.
Weapon Of Poverty
But LP’s Deputy National Chairman, Ayo Olorunfemi, described the endorsement as a big deal and Obasanjo as a man of integrity.
According to him, Obasanjo, like many Nigerians, feels the pain brought on by corruption.
“We’re looking at those few Nigerians that have stolen our money and believe that they are so powerful. They have weaponised poverty and they believe that money can do everything. No, Nigerians are departing from that narrative,” he said.
“He’s telling them right now that ‘you can’t continue to suffer in this manner. You don’t have any reason to suffer in this manner, and therefore, I am giving this guy a clean bill.’
“[Obasanjo is saying] ‘I’m giving this guy an endorsement, so that Nigerians will know that [with] the benefit of experience, this person is better than every other candidate, particularly those candidates from the two so-called major political parties.
“These are the people that ganged up against us and threw this country into this mess.”
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