By Rachel Okporu Fadoju
A member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has said the 2027 election will be easier for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, than it was in 2023.
Peter Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labor Party, polled 6.1 million votes to finish third behind Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 6.9 million votes, and the eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 8.7 million votes.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Yesufu noted that Peter Obi’s support base, popularly known as the Obidients, did significant groundwork during the 2023 election, which she believes would make the 2027 contest easier.
Yesufu also pointed to the alliance between Peter Obi and the NDC vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as another development that could strengthen the party’s chances in 2027.
He said, “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.
“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.”
Speaking further, Yesufu argued that the economic hardship Nigerians are experiencing could influence voters’ decisions in the 2027 election, adding that the widespread hardship in the country had become a major concern for Nigerians, who now realise that religious considerations, such as a Muslim-Muslim ticket, would not put food on their tables.
