Senator Adams Oshiomhole has downplayed the political threat posed by Labour Party’s Peter Obi to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that Obi’s showing in the 2023 presidential poll was fuelled by public anger rather than genuine political might.
The Edo North senator and former governor of Edo State spoke on Monday during an appearance on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines.
Asked whether the APC was underrating Obi’s influence, especially after his victory in Lagos and strong outing in the South-East in 2023, Oshiomhole argued that the former Anambra State governor benefited from an “unusual situation” within the then ruling party.
“No, not at all, not at all. Obi was produced by an unusual situation when a ruling party decided to destroy itself, making anybody running on its platform almost unelectable. It was that confusion that produced those votes,” he said.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress president traced the anger to the cash crunch caused by the naira redesign policy and the fuel scarcity that preceded the election, saying Nigerians were frustrated at being unable to access money they had in their accounts.
“People had money in the bank but couldn’t access it. They queued all night at ATM machines just to withdraw ₦10,000, and after a week, even the ATMs were dry,” he said, adding that many were forced to pay high charges to Point of Sale operators.
Oshiomhole maintained that voters were already disenchanted with the Peoples Democratic Party before the hardship worsened, and insisted the policies behind the hardship were those of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. “I told her what Buhari was doing at that time was not APC policy. It was that anger that influenced the outcome of the election,” he said.
Source: Punch.
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