National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Tanko Yunusa, has expressed confidence that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, will secure widespread support across the country, including the core North, ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking during an interview session with Nigerian Tribune, Yunusa said the movement remained optimistic that the NDC would perform strongly in the presidential election as well as in state and federal legislative contests.

“We are thinking that all the states should be able to be up and doing and when they do, they should be able to win the elections as the case may be. So we hope so,” he said.

On recent court cases and internal challenges affecting the NDC and other opposition parties, Yunusa alleged that the developments were politically motivated.

“Well, it seems that yes, it’s very clear because we see what’s happening to PDP, ADC, NDC, Labour Party. Those are all of the indicators of what the government has already been involved in.

“You will not see their names written there but it’s of course from kangaroo people, the one that comes from nowhere to create such issues,” he said.

The Obidient Movement coordinator also defended Obi’s commitment to serve only one term if elected president, saying the decision was informed by the existing North-South power-sharing understanding.

“Because he respects the arrangement, though unconstitutional, the arrangement of having a north and south presidency. And so in this case, the south only have one more four years and that is what he’s committed to in order to fulfil that particular arrangement,” Yunusa stated.

He dismissed speculation that Obi could lose the NDC presidential ticket or that members of the Obidient Movement might abandon the party if events did not go their way.

“We believe that he has already gotten the tickets. We don’t even imagine that he will be out. We don’t just envisage it in any way.

“We’ve already done the ticket already has been given to him and it has been confirmed. So I don’t know if there’s going to be any shift whatsoever, as long as already been given the tickets and it’s already been uploaded into the INEC portal,” he said.

Responding to claims that some members of the Obidient Movement were dissatisfied with developments in the NDC, Yunusa said the movement’s primary objective had always been to secure Obi’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate.

“I don’t know about not happy. Our sacrifice is for Mr Peter Obi to get the tickets, and he has gotten them. So we are happy that he has gotten the ticket.

“Any other thing is for us. It’s just him is the first person. That’s the first target we have,” he added.

On Obi’s prospects in northern Nigeria, Yunusa maintained that the campaign had continued to expand its grassroots presence in the region and expressed confidence that the core North would support the former Anambra State governor in 2027.

“Of course, it’s a continuous process. That’s why you see, when he was taking his Vice, Musa Kwankwaso was picked in order to make sure that we reach out to the core north,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)