Oshiomhole downplays Peter Obi's impact ahead of 2027 elections

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, has dismissed claims that Peter Obi of the Labour Party is a major political threat to the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 elections.

He believes that Obi's showing in the 2023 presidential election was a result of public anger towards the economic policies of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Oshiomhole made these comments on Monday during a chat on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines.

When asked if the APC was underestimating Obi's political power after his win in Lagos and strong performance in the South-East, Oshiomhole responded that Obi's rise came from an “unusual situation” rather than his own 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 President of the Nigeria Labour Congress blamed the cash shortage from the naira redesign policy and fuel scarcity before the 2023 election for the widespread voter dissatisfaction that helped Obi.

Oshiomhole pointed out how Nigerians faced frustration when trying 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 also mentioned that many people had to pay high fees to Point of Sale operators to get cash during that time.

"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 noted that voters had already lost faith in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before the APC introduced policies that worsened the economic situation just before the election.

He recalled discussions with people in his constituency who held the government responsible for the challenges 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?'" he shared.

The senator insisted that the policies causing the hardship were not part of the APC's 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.