An activist and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, Comrade Obi Ojage, has given insight into the reason Mr Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, became the borne of contention among the opposition candidates during and after the elections, with less talk about Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the presidential election, Peter Obi was in contest against Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The APC candidate was eventually declared winner by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), sparking legal fireworks.

Comrade Ojage, who noted that an individual can’t be wrong and get right at the same time no matter how hard he or she may try, said in a chat with our correspondent that the Labour Party candidate was considered an underdog in the whole 2023 political equation and happened to fit in a new awakening in the country as he was considered to have gone into the election with less baggage of corruption.

According to him, “Nigerians, all over, were clamouring for change in the system from the old order to something new during the last presidential election that took place in February this year.

“His Excellency, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi of the opposition party who is now the issue in contention with less and less mention of the name of Alhaji Atiku Abubaker, was considered an underdog in the whole equation and happened to fit in that new awakening gregariously as one who had less baggage and with a message that was more resonant and appealing to the ears of a large number of people invariably compared to the three other leading contenders for president who relied on factors which were mundane and were seen as a recurrent decimal in their estimation unknown to them that there had suddenly arisen among the people, especially the youths including most highly evolved professionals, a deep craving for a new “wine” even if the jar would still be the same old one.”

“That was the simple justification and the truth of what transpired involving the total summersault of the electorate to vote differently at the time of election and why Obi was able to win in all the major cities including his home States overwhelmingly”, he said.

Comrade Ojage who is a former member of the Board of Directors of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), maintained that his position “had nothing to do with the credibility or otherwise of the elections and the later unassailable attitude of the election umpire as some had alluded to in their arguments which were highly parochial with an infusion of partisanship against what took place.

“It is not very encouraging to be identified with falsehood as a Christian that we all claim to be or one with the fear of the almighty as it is so proclaimed by those of other religions. It makes you compromise your resolve cheaply.

“Thereby rendering yourself a willing tool for destruction in the hands of the evil ones who are relentless in scanning for who to devour amongst those who are homogeneous where their spells of entrapment can easily magnetize without their victims knowing it.

“I surmise that adhesive to the truth as the facts in a matter in dispute put one in a comfortable situation where no harm can reach you in whatever is been said or done by the gods or whoever is aggrieved regarding such a dubious and highly contentious issue. That’s my take”, he said.

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