The Big Tent, a coalition of political parties and civil society organisations led by Pat Utomi for Obi/Datti has commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for “standing up for the Nigerian youth and majority of long-suffering Nigerians by his decisive action to endorse Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of Labour Party.”
In a statement signed by Charles Odibo, Director of Media and Communications for Big Tent Coalition for ObiDatti, it stated that President Obasanjo’s “unambiguous endorsement of Peter Obi as the most credible and qualified presidential candidate for the February 2023 election is a further affirmation of the popular views of majority of registered voters as reflected in five independent polls conducted by four credible pollster organisations, which results overwhelmingly showed that Obi is trusted by Nigerians as the preferred candidate to lead the country out of its present morass into a new nation that works for all.”
The lengthy statement reads, “Consistent with the will of the majority of registered voters nationwide, the Professor Utomi-led Big Tent Coalition of political parties and civil society organisations for Obi/Datti, commends former President Olusegun Obasanjo for standing up for the Nigerian youth and majority of long-suffering Nigerians by his decisive action to endorse Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of Labour Party.
“By this exemplary act of rising above primordial sentiments and standing with the people as is consistently reflected in the mood of the nation and published empirical surveys in the past four months, President Obasanjo has again displayed the characteristic frankness which has long endeared him to the masses who still fondly remember his golden era as President of the country at the dawn of this democratic dispensation.
“To be sure, President Obasanjo’s unambiguous endorsement of Peter Obi as the most credible and qualified presidential candidate for the February 2023 election is a further affirmation of the popular views of the majority of registered voters as reflected in five independent polls conducted by four credible pollster organisations, which results overwhelmingly showed that Obi is trusted by Nigerians as the preferred candidate to lead the country out of its present morass into a new nation that works for all.”
Obasanjo in his open letter on January 1, 2023 titled “My Appeal to all Nigerians, particularly young Nigerians,” had argued that “none of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job, particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge.”
According to the former President, “one other important point to make about Peter is that he is a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost. In other words, he has people who can pull his ears, if and when necessary. Needless to say that he has a young and able running mate with a clean track record of achievement both in public and private life.”
Analysing the different polls since June last year, The Big Tent argued that “It is important to restate that based on an empirical methodology used in five independent polls by four credible pollster institutions between September and December 2022, namely – ANAP/NOI; Bloomberg; We2gedaNG; and Nextier, Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party is the preferred candidate by majority of registered voters and therefore in pole position to win the presidential election at the first ballot with a cumulative average of 41.5%, while Atiku Abubakar of PDP, Bola Tinubu of APC, and Rabiu Kwankwanso of NNPP follow behind in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th positions with 16.74%, 16.3%, and 2.7%, respectively.
“A further deep-dive into the survey by the independent polling firms also shows a uniform pattern of the poll results all of which conclusively showed that Peter Obi of the Labour Party is in commanding lead in the three geo-political zones of North Central, South-South, and South East respectively, while also maintaining a healthy second place in the South West, slightly below Bola Tinubu of APC.
“In the Nextier poll, Peter Obi is leading in North Central with 59.8%; Atiku Abubakar, 18%, Bola Tinubu, 16.4%, and Rabiu Kwankwanso, 0.3%; whilst in the South South Peter Obi leads with 67.3%; Atiku Abubakar, 11.9%; Bola Tinubu, 10.7%, and Rabiu Kwankwanso, 0.3%. In the South East, Peter Obi stretches his commanding lead to 94%; Atiku Abubakar, 2.8%; Bola Tinubu, 0.6%; and Rabiu Kwankwanso, 0.3%. In the South West, Bola Tinubu holds a slim lead with 37.4%, followed closely by Peter Obi with 24%; Atiku Abubakar, 16.5%; and Rabiu Kwankwanso, 2.3%.
“The ANAP/NOI polls of September and December 2022 follow a similar pattern with a cumulative average of 20% for Peter Obi in North Central, 59% in South East, 46% in South South, and 13.5% in South West. Conversely Bola Tibubu trailed with 12.5% in North Central, 0.5% in the South East, 5.5% in South South, and 20% in South West. Following behind Tinubu is Atiku Abubakar who polled 8.5% in North Central, 1% in South East, 4.5% in South South, and 4% in South West.
“We2geda survey results from the regions are also consistent with the other surveys. 53% of respondents from North Central Nigeria prefer Peter Obi for president. Atiku Abubakar came in second with 24% of the responses. Bola Ahmed Tinubu secured 19% of the respondents while Rabiu Kwankwaso got 2%. In the North East, Atiku Abubakar got 41% of the respondents’ votes from this region, Peter Obi received 34%, while Bola Ahmed Tinubu secured 30% of the respondents. 70% of respondents from the South South region prefer Peter Obi, with Atiku Abubakar coming a distant second with 16%. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the third most preferred candidate with 10%. A review of all the respondents from South East shows that Peter Obi is a clear favourite. 82% of respondents from the South East prefer Peter Obi as President. Atiku Abubakar came in a distant second at 8%, with Bola Ahmed Tinubu at third with 6%.”
The coalition concluded that “The results of the above five surveys followed the required methodology to arrive at empirical results some of which are the study population, sample size, and sampling technique that was used in the polling; the demographics of the sample size; if all survey respondents are registered to vote in 2023; and how the poll was conducted, whether through phone calls or face to face, using structured survey questionnaire, amongst others.
“As can be observed from the detailed methodology of the above surveys, it can then be easily understood that the polls that conclusively put Peter Obi of the Labour Party as the most preferred candidate are results of empirically verifiable surveys that nationally reflect the views of voters and will inevitably stand the test of time as the nation heads to the polls on February 25, 2023.
“Going into the election in February, we are confident that Peter Obi who has built up an enthusiastic base over the past six months as widely indicated in the surveys has, through an organic “Obidient” support base, rapidly scaled up our organizational infrastructure to capitalize on the campaign’s momentum that will inevitably lead to victory on February 25, 2023.
“As the race to the general elections gets underway and Nigerians contend with soaring inflation, a plunging currency, pervasive insecurity, crude oil sales that have also slumped to all-time lows, while the APC-led administration’s debt service bill continue to exceed the revenue the country is able to earn, majority of Nigerians as indicated in the surveys, and now endorsed by former President Obasanjo, look up to Peter Obi as the only candidate who can surmount the challenges.”
