By Miftaudeen Raji

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi has explained the rationale behind taking his political campaign to the market people.

Obi, who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s live programme tagged, “The 2023 Verdict” on Monday, said the reason taking campaign to the market people was to learn about the problems they faced with. 

“I’ve campaigned in every state of Nigeria, the 36 states and the FCT Abuja making 37. My reason for going to market is very simple. I’ve always said we need to be able to go back from consumption to production. You can’t do that without where the markets are functional. 

“I went to interact with traders and business people, industrialists and agriculturists, learning about their problems,” he added. 

Recall that Obi had earlier taken his campaign to some popular markets in Lagos state ahead of the February 25th presidential election.

On Monday, Obi visited the popular Computer Village, Ikeja and Ladipo Spare Parts Market in the Oshodi area of the state, where traders troop out in their numbers to receive him. 

Obi’s march through the market was met with cheers by supporters, who trooped, chanting songs of solidarity with the Labour Party candidate.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of Labour Party defended the recent campaign visit of Obi to Alaba International Market in Lagos State.

“A day before this election [campaign rally in Lagos], there were [questions]: ‘are we going to shift it?’” Obi’s Special Adviser on Strategic Alliances, Valentine Ozigbo, said during a live appearance on The 2023 Verdict, a Channels Television programme.

“And landing, maybe the planning hadn’t been concluded. Alaba wasn’t even planned. Nobody was informed that he was coming and you saw that crowd. Imagine if they got a few days’ notice, a day’s notice that His Excellency was gonna come; he wouldn’t walk that street at all.”

According to Ozigbo, the important thing for Obi was seizing every opportunity to engage and reach out to Nigerians.

Asked if the prevalence of an Igbo community, the candidate’s kin, at the popular market formed part of the rationale for Obi’s visit, the campaign strategist argued otherwise.

“The reality is that what Peter Obi has demonstrated is total detribalisation in everything he has done,” he said. “He’s the only candidate that would go to even Igboland and say to everyone, ‘Do not vote for me because I’m an Igbo man.’”

Peter Obi visited the Alaba International Market, Lagos on Saturday, February 11, 2023.