Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has admitted that a crop of young, first time voters who have taken an interest in the electoral process because of Peter Obi, are a huge cause for concern for the bigger political parties.
The PDP and APC have shared federal power between them since Nigeria’s return to civilian governance in 1999.
Both parties have also controlled a chunk of the states, the federal legislative houses, the local governments and the state houses of assembly in 23 years.
In recent times however, a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has won the hearts of young people on social media who label themselves OBIdient, with his rhetoric and messaging; and Obaseki believes that APC and PDP should well be looking over their shoulders.
“How can PDP, in Ekiti, they not only couldn’t win, they were not even number two,” Obaseki, who dumped the APC for the PDP in June of 2020, lamented before stakeholders.
“So, you can see that something is going on and we don’t want this to be a trend. The future of our politics in this country is changing. I don’t know whether you are closely watching what is going on. The level of disenchantment with existing parties…
“I am sure, in all our homes here, we have so many people now who call themselves OBIdient. Just ask them which party are you supporting and they say OBIdient. You understand?
“They don’t want us. They are not talking about APC or PDP. They are looking for alternatives.
“And they are much, much, more. You see all of them queue for PVCs (Permanent Voters’ Cards) now. They are not looking in the direction of APC or PDP. They are looking for alternatives. And if we don’t make our party attractive, I don’t know what will happen in the next election,” Obaseki added.
60-year-old Obi fled the PDP for the Labour Party (LP) in May. He has since emerged the presidential candidate of LP and has galvanised millions of vociferous young people to sign up to his campaign.