We looked down on Peter Obi, thought he was a joke – Labaran Maku confesses
A former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Labaran Maku has said that many people underrated the electoral capacity of the ‘Obidient’ movement and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi.
The February 25 presidential election passed a strong message, as Obi performed above the expectations of the people and his colleagues in politics.
He was underrated as a politician with no political structure but eventually turned out to be a challenging third force candidate.
Obi gathered over six million votes; secured victory in 11 states and came third in the presidential election.
Reacting, Mr. Maku said politicians in the opposition did not give Obi and his followers a chance.
“What happened in the presidential election as you could see was that there was this wave of young people, the ‘Obidients’ that we all took for granted and we were thinking Peter Obi was a joke. Where would he go?” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said on the breakfast show Tuesday.
“So, both PDP and the APC, we were thinking ‘This man does not have structure. He will not be able to do so much’.”
“But the young people seized the initiative from the politicians. And for the first time – what we saw in Nasarawa, Edo, several other places, and in Delta State where the PDP vice presidential candidate comes from – we saw that young people were serious about what they were doing and they took advantage of social media to project a programme which has shaken the nation.”
