The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, has dismissed suggestions that Labour Party’s defeat in the recent Anambra governorship election signals a decline in the political influence of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Tanko insisted, “Peter Obi was not on the ballot.”

As reported by ARISE News on Tuesday, he stressed that assessing Obi’s political relevance based on an election he did not contest was misleading.

“First of all, I watched a lot of interviews this morning, and quite a lot of people were trying to peg the election on Peter Obi. Peter Obi was not on that ballot.

“Yes, he supported George Moghalu, and he gave his support and went to three areas for campaigns, but it was the contest of George Moghalu, on which the people had to decide,” he said.

Tanko emphasised that the Anambra election was about the Labour Party candidate, not Obi himself.

“All of this election hinges on the Anambrarians to decide who becomes their governor. Seventeen years ago, Peter Obi ran an election against the same Mr Soludo and Dr Chris Ngige.

“Put Peter Obi on the ballot today, against such individuals, he will still defeat them,” he said.

He described Obi’s support for the Labour Party candidate, despite internal party differences, as an act of political honour.

“Even though, as his choice of a candidate, he came from the Aburi leadership, and Peter Obi supported the Nenadi leadership of the Labour Party, despite that, he went ahead to give that support to show his honour for his party. That is what is honourable for any candidate,” Tanko explained.

Tanko’s interview follows comments from the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, which advised Peter Obi to reconsider his 2027 presidential ambition, stating that the outcome of the Anambra governorship election indicated a decline in the Labour Party’s grassroots support and the influence of Obi’s Obidient Movement.

The party’s spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, said, “The result, especially in Obi’s polling unit, showed that LP’s structure in his base was crumbling.

Social media popularity cannot replace consistent political organisation and voter engagement. The Anambra election offers important lessons on structure and performance.”

On Obi’s enduring popularity in Anambra, Tanko attributed the election outcome to low voter turnout rather than rejection.

“Do you also know the number of registered voters in Anambra is two million-plus? And then, at the end of it all, only about 500,000 decided to vote. That shows voter apathy and lack of trust in the process,” he stated.

Tanko affirmed that Obi continues to command overwhelming support.

“If Peter Obi were on the ballot, this calculation wouldn’t even have arisen.

“Peter Obi is strongly supported by his people at every point. The dynamics in Anambra’s election are quite different from anywhere else,” he said.

He cited Lagos as an example of Obi’s appeal, noting, “You could use Lagos as an example of how he got 100 per cent of the votes, and then, at the same time, probably the voting that came to Gbadebo was different. That’s how dynamics play out in elections.”

Tanko also highlighted that some Labour Party setbacks were due to opportunistic politicians who leveraged Obi’s popularity in 2023 but later defected.

“Some of them left, and that did not give this particular trust,” he said.

Regarding calls from the APC for Obi to abandon his 2027 ambitions, Tanko accused opponents of trying to manipulate the process to undermine him.

“That was the attempt right from the beginning, when we knew they were going to monetise the process by giving so much money just to demean the candidacy of Mr. Peter Obi,” he said.

On the Anambra election, he added, “It was heavily monetised, and that, of course, is vote buying, rigging and intimidation. Within the period Mr Peter Obi was in Anambra, he went to about seven places — all of them schools of nursing — and, focusing on his humanitarian gestures, he gave nothing less than almost ?100 million to different schools.”

He also suggested reforms, proposing that INEC be split into an Enforcement Commission, an Electoral Commission, and a Delineation Commission to improve accountability.

“2.9 million people registered, yet only about five hundred thousand voted. That’s too low for deciding on a governor. We must build a system that rekindles trust in elections,” he concluded.

Soludo polled 422,664 votes to emerge the winner, with the closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress, scoring 99,445 votes to come second. Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party secured 37,753 votes.

While the Labour Party candidate, George Moghalu, scored 10,576 votes, John Nwosu, the candidate of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress, polled 8,208 votes. (The PUNCH)