Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, would not have won the 2023 election even if he had received 10 million votes, according to former Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed.
During an appearance on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs Podcast, Mohammed clarified that Obi was still unable to secure “one-quarter of votes cast in 25 states,” which is a constitutional condition for winning the presidency.
“Even if Obi had got 10million votes, he wouldn’t have won. This is because he still could not get one-quarter of the votes cast in 25 states. It is even on record that he could not furnish agents at roughly 40,000 voting units,” the ex-minister said.
“Ethnicity and religion played a very frontal role for the first time in the history of politics in Nigeria,” Mohammed stated when discussing the variables that influenced the 2023 election, particularly in Lagos state.
He noted that the #EndSARS protests had an impact, particularly in Lagos, where many youngsters “wanted a pound of flesh,” which did not benefit the APC or Bola Tinubu.
Mohammed’s advertisements further highlighted the distinction between elections for the presidency and those for governorships or the National Assembly.
“I think national assemblies and governorships are more intimate than presidential elections. In presidential elections, a guy might not be linked with any of the contenders. However, because the candidate resides in the state, it is unique and special when it comes to governorships, he noted.
On Tinubu’s leadership, Mohammed remarked that the president does not withdraw support from allies after electoral failures.
“Asiwaju is not the kind of person who will drop his support for you because you have lost the election. No, he would still support you,” he said, adding that Tinubu has often been underestimated due to his warm and charismatic personality.
Mohammed remarked, “He is strategic and truly understands Nigerian politics better than anybody you might think of.”
