A highly placed northerner has said that Peter Obi has emerged as a major candidate to watch out for in the North
With less than two weeks to the presidential election, there are indications that power brokers in the North are currently in a dilemma over which candidate to support for the February 25 presidential election.
The development comes even as powerful lobbyists of leading candidates have invaded the North especially the grassroots to woo more voters as the election approaches crunch time.
A highly placed northerner who did not want his name in print told our correspondent that the era of bloc votes enjoyed by President Muhammadu Buhari in the North is over.
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He however said that some die-hard conservatives still believe power should remain in the North and are rallying round the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar but that he cannot repeat the Buhari feat in the region.
He said apart from that, there is a huge population of people in the North who believe that another northerner should not succeed President Muhammadu Buhari after he would have completed eight years in office on May 29.
This category of people, our source said, are torn between the candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and his counterpart in the Labour Party(LP), Mr Peter Obi.
He said, many northerners believe that the presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party(NNPP), Musa Kwankwaso, though a good material has no chance in the forthcoming election.
Our source told Ejesgist News that Atiku’s supporters believe that apart from ethnic and religious sentiments, he remains the most mature and national figure to tackle the myriad of problems facing the country now.
He said: “many believe that Turaki Adamawa is the right man for the job now despite what seems a disadvantage that he is a northerner trying to succeed Buhari, another northerner.”
On the chances of the APC candidate, he said Asiwaju wormed his way into the hearts of many northerners immediately after he won his party’s primaries but lost a lot of grounds when he appeared not physically fit enough to take on the responsibility of leading Nigeria at this perilous time.
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He said many of those who supported him for his contributions to returning power to the North are worried that a Tinubu presidency may be a repeat of the early years of Buhari’s administration which witnessed a lot of challenges owing to the ill-health of the president.
“Tinubu before now was the automatic choice of many northerners who considered him a friend to the North but the situation has changed because Nigeria must get it right now”, he said.
Our source also told Ejesgist News that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party has emerged a major candidate to watch out for in the North.
He said that even though some wish him away as a fresher in the race, he has surprisingly made inroad into the North especially the youth and Christian population in the region.
His words: “When Peter Obi entered the race, some leaders in the North were laughing at him for not having what it took to win votes but the situation has changed.
“His message of integrity has so much resonated in the North and you know people in the region believe in any candidate who they see as pro-masses.
“People have to watch out for him. He would not win most northern states but he will go beyond the expectation of his opponents. That is why I believe that there would no more be bloc votes in the North again.
