Peter Obi as the flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election is good news to the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State.
However, based on the governor’s analysis, Obi’s emergence spells trouble for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The APC stalwart, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday evening, described Obi’s candidature as a “good omen” for his party.
“Our major contender is the PDP,” he said. “What is our political investment in the South-East? The votes we got from Nasarawa Local Government in Kano Metropolitan Area was much higher than the total votes APC got in the entire five states of the South-East.
“So, you can see that if there is any problem politically in the South-East, it is the PDP that will suffer the brush. So, the emergence of Obi from the South-eastern part of this country I think it’s the votes of PDP that he will snatch away and is already snatching away.
“For APC, I think it is even a good omen. Instead of having a very close competitor, now the attention of the competitor has been diverted.”
Ganduje pointed to the internal crisis in the PDP as further cause for the party to be worried about its chances in the forthcoming election.
“Apart from the problem they have within the political party, especially the G5, there is also the factor of Obi. So, any political analyst would know that the emergence of Labour Party is a minus to PDP and by extrapolation, it is a plus to our great party, the APC,” Ganduje said.
Since the emergence of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in May, five PDP governors also known as the G5 or ‘Integrity Group’ have called for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, citing regional balance in the party’s structure.
The governors include Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu
