Senator Adams Oshiomhole has brushed aside claims that Labour Party candidate Peter Obi presents a significant challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines on Monday, the Edo North representative argued that Obi’s strong showing in 2023 was the result of public outrage over the former Buhari administration’s economic missteps rather than personal political clout.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress President blamed severe widespread voter dissatisfaction, caused by the pre-election fuel shortages and the controversial naira redesign policy, for handing Obi his victories in Lagos and the South-East. Oshiomhole recounted how desperate citizens faced empty cash machines and extortionate fees from Point of Sale operators just to access their own savings, driving angry voters away from both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party.
Maintaining that these damaging measures were never part of the APC’s official agenda, Oshiomhole insisted that the former Anambra governor simply capitalised on a unique period of turmoil.
“Obi was produced by an unusual situation when a ruling party decided to destroy itself, making anybody running on its platform almost unelectable. It was that confusion that produced those votes,” Oshiomhole said.
Recalling a constituent in his village who lost £2 out of every £5 withdrawn at POS terminals just to survive, Oshiomhole concluded: “I told her what Buhari was doing at that time was not APC policy. It was that anger that influenced the outcome of the election.”