By CHARLES IWUOHA

Barely two weeks to the commencement of presidential campaign in the 2023 election scheduled to begin on September 28, street marches and rallies being organised by the campaign team and support groups of presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, are already posing a challenge for his main rivals banking on votes from the South East geo-political zone of the country.

The turnout at the rallies is particularly problematic for Obi’s main opponents, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), who may find themselves walled off from the South East in terms of votes.

In the latest of such outings, support groups of the Labour Party at weekend marched through the streets of Enugu in a show of force that suggests the entire region may be moving towards voting for Obi, a situation, analysts say would greatly affect the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections.

News Express findings revealed that the LP and the Obi candidacy is gaining enough momentum, as it is rubbing off on other Labour Party candidates, especially those running for governorship and seats in the National Assembly.

Some governorship campaign teams and party spokespersons of the LP now believe they not only stand a good chance at the election, but are actually the party to beat.

Two states in the South East, Imo and Ebonyi, are governed by the APC. Two others, Enugu and Abia are PDP states, while Anambra is run by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The crowd was unprecedented in Enugu at weekend as different Obi support groups embarked on what they described as a two-million-man march for the former Anambra State governor.

Vehicular and commercial activities were almost grounded in some parts of Enugu, as the supporters of the Labour Party Presidential Candidate marched through different parts of the city.

From the Okpara Square where the crowd assembled before taking off, the numbers kept growing as the crowd chanting pro-Obi songs marched through the Enugu State capital.

The growing support for the Obident Movement has long taken over Enugu State with members of the major parties showing overwhelming support for the Obi project.

The recent attack on the Labour Party meeting in Awgu recently could not deter the overwhelming support for the Obi presidency, as the march recorded an unprecedented success.

Some of the supporters, who spoke to our correspondent, said they decided to use the march to tell people that they are solidly in support of Obi.

The state chairman of the Labour Party in Enugu State, Casmir Agbo, assured that the governorship candidate of the party in the state for the 2023 general election, Chidioke Edeoga, will emerge the next governor of the state

He disclosed that the asset and structure of the party for the election remain the masses who have been embarking on solidarity rallies for the party.

Agbo assured that he has gotten enough support to cripple the PDP in the state.

He said despite the attacks on members of the Labour Party in the state by suspected members of the PDP, Edeoga will emerge victorious.

Similarly, the media adviser to Alex Otti, Ferdinand Ekeoma, told our Correspondent that Obi’s candidacy is impacting positively on Otti’s governorship candidacy in Abia State.

He said: “This is not just because of Obi’s popularity, but also because the two men are long time close friends who share similarity of excellent antecedents in the corporate world.

“This is coupled with the fact that the people consider Otti a strong voice and a reliable personality who has remained consistent and courageous in lending his voice against perceived leadership failings in the state.”

Ekeoma who is also the spokesman of the Alex Otti campaign organisation added that this is in spite of the setbacks the former banker experienced in the 2015 and 2019 elections.

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