The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, says he has not fallen out of favour with youths, maintaining that young Nigerians still see him as a better alternative to other contenders.
Sowore stated this on Politics Paradigm, a Channels Television programme aired on Tuesday.
Asked if the youths still see him as an alternative, the AAC presidential candidate said, “I have no doubt…that followership is still there.”
In recent times, 61-year-old Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has gained popularity among the youths. They take to social media and troop out for solidarity marches to sell his candidacy over Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
But when asked whether he has fallen out of favour with the youths unlike in the buildup to the 2019 elections, Sowore said, “No, not at all.”
According to him, not all youths who participated in the EndSARS protests in October 2020 support Obi. He alleged that the former governor of Anambra State did not identify with the protesters.
“Did Peter Obi participate in EndSARS?” Sowore queried, stating that he has always been on the side of youths. “Not all the young people who participated in EndSARS are following Peter Obi.”
Sowore also faulted the entitlement mentality of some candidates heading into next year’s exercise. Conversations about the poll, he argued, should not be about ideas.
He said that he is not ‘Emi lo kan’, a Yoruba phrase popularised by Tinubu at an event in Ogun State where he reiterated his desire to become Nigeria’s president.
