Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has launched his nationwide campaign on Saturday with a rally in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State in the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria, ahead of the February 2023 election.
Channels TV reported that around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Obi, his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, and the other 1,234 campaign council members of the party arrived at the rally’s location.
Obi’s campaign train will be extensive over all six geopolitical zones of the nation, according to Doyin Okupe, Director General of Obi’s campaign council.
Okupe stated that Obi and Baba-Ahmed will travel the entire length and breadth of Nigeria from Nasarawa State to meet with their supporters, also referred to as “Obidients,” who are spread out over the entire nation. To demonstrate that they are real people outside of social media, “obidients” have conducted rallies in important cities.
Starting campaigns on September 28 was permitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Although Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, and other leading contenders have since launched their campaigns, Obi suspended the official launch of his campaign in mid-October out of respect for the millions of flood victims across the nation.
The former governor had urged Atiku, Tinubu, and other presidential hopefuls to put their campaigns on hold to help with relief operations for flood victims in more than 20 states throughout Nigeria.
Obi recently paid visits to influential figures in the north, including the emirs of Bauchi and Kano, as well as the chairman of the Northern Elders Forum and a well-known Islamic preacher named Ahmad Gumi. He also paid visits to Abdulsalami Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida, two former heads of state.
In an interview with Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed stated, “Whoever thinks that Labour Party or Obi-dient movement or Peter Obi as an individual is not being welcomed in the north, they are making a huge mistake.
“Awareness has been very high in the north. What happens is that northerners listen more to the politicians and the politicians seem to have more impact on the populace in the north and awareness is pretty high,” he added.