Aisha Yesufu, a member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has said Mr. Peter Obi will find the 2027 presidential election less challenging than the 2023 contest.
Yesufu, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, attributed her optimism to the groundwork already laid by Obi’s supporters during the 2023 election.
The former governor of Anambra State contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party and secured 6.1 million votes, placing third behind the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who polled 6.9 million votes, and the eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who obtained 8.7 million votes.
According to Yesufu, the movement popularly known as the Obidients had to build its support base from scratch in 2023, but the situation has changed with Obi now having greater visibility across the country.
“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 identified the reported political alliance between Obi’s supporters and the Kwankwasiyya movement as another factor that could boost the NDC’s prospects 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 linked the 2027 political contest to the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, arguing that hardship could become an important factor in determining how voters exercise their franchise.
She said Nigerians were increasingly concerned about the impact of economic conditions on their daily lives and suggested that religious considerations, including the Muslim-Muslim ticket, would become less influential when voters are confronted with economic hardship.
The NDC presidential candidate recently attracted attention after his convoy was stopped by youths in Benue State while he was travelling on the Gboko-Makurdi road to Yelwata, where he was scheduled to visit communities and families affected by recent violence.
The incident generated reactions, with some arguing that Obi should have continued with the planned visit despite the obstruction.
Yesufu, however, defended the decision to discontinue the journey, describing it as a strategic move rather than an indication that Obi was afraid.
She went further to describe Obi as the most courageous politician in the country, 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.
