The Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has dismissed suggestions that Labour Party’s Peter Obi poses a major political threat to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general election.
He argued that Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election was driven by public anger over the economic policies of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The former Edo State Governor stated this on Monday during an appearance on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines.
Responding to a question on whether the APC was underestimating Obi’s political influence, particularly after his victory in Lagos and strong showing in the South-East during the 2023 election, Oshiomhole said the former Anambra State governor emerged from an “unusual situation” rather than personal political strength.
“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,”Oshiomhole said.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress President blamed the cash crunch caused by the naira redesign policy and the fuel scarcity that preceded the 2023 election for the widespread voter dissatisfaction that, according to him, benefited Obi.
According to Oshiomhole, Nigerians were frustrated after being unable to access their money despite having funds in their bank 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.
He added that many Nigerians also had to pay high charges to Point of Sale operators to obtain cash during the period.
“Someone asked why people would queue all night to withdraw ₦5,000, then queue again for fuel, and still expect them to queue on election day to vote for the same government. That anger was what produced Obi,” he said.
Oshiomhole argued that voters had already become disillusioned with the Peoples Democratic Party before the APC government introduced policies that worsened economic hardship on the eve of the election.
He also recalled conversations with constituents who blamed the government for the hardship caused by the cash shortage.
“A woman in my village told me, ‘You said I should keep my money in the bank, but when I went to collect it, they said there was no money. At the POS, they deducted ₦2,000 from ₦5,000. How do I survive?’”
The senator maintained that the policies responsible for the hardship were not part of the APC’s political agenda.
“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.
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