Fayose acknowledges Obi as the only genuine opposition voice, seems to build on Obi’s claim of competence and capacity to turn Nigeria around for good
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
****************************
“The only voice that has traction, that is still talking, that is everywhere despite not being in government, is Obi. I give it to him.
“But let me tell you, all others are just filling the gap. Atiku is filling the gap, and all the others too, because people don’t listen to them anymore” – Fayose.
********************************
Peter Obi is the only credible opposition voice in Nigeria at the moment, former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose has asserted, ostensibly building on Obi’s claim of competence and capacity to turn Nigeria around for good, if the 2027 vote is not rigged and he is elected President.
“Tell me, who will defeat the APC? The only opposition that I know in Nigeria, let me tell you now, the only opposition, I didn’t say the opposition can win Asiwaju, but the only opposition that still has traction is Obi, no other one,” Fayose argued on Channels Television.
“The only voice that has traction, that is still talking, that is everywhere despite not being in government, is Obi. I give it to him.
“But let me tell you, all others are just filling the gap. Atiku is filling the gap, and all the others too, because people don’t listen to them anymore.”
Obi himself has insisted that he “can change the trajectory of Nigeria to a positive one” within four years, confirmed his quest for a place on the ballot, and urged voters to weigh competence when choosing the next President.
“I am contesting, and I am sure I will be on the ballot. People will have to look at who is competing, who has the capacity, who has everything.
“I think I am qualified; I have the capacity to do the job. I will say it over and over again that, in four years, I can change the trajectory of Nigeria to a positive one,” Obi stressed on the same Channels Television.
Obi ran for President in 2023 on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) but has since publicly associated with the opposition coalition in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He explained that he remains a member of the LP and is committed to working with other opposition leaders to “rescue the country from bad leadership.”
He declined to be drawn into speculation about joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying instead that “all well-meaning Nigerians must come together now to rescue the country.”
Obi criticised “misplaced focus on political manoeuvring” while millions of citizens languish in poverty.
“Why are we not talking about the 139 million people who are poor in this country?” he wondered, stressing that the plight of the poor takes precedence over partisan politics.
On the recent high-profile defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC), including those of PDP Governors Peter Mbah (Enugu) and Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Obi said defections reflect personal political calculations, not coercion.
“We are not in a military time when you capture people,” he reiterated, adding that democracy is sustained by persuasion, not force.
He described Mbah as a good friend and said Governors should be allowed to make decisions based on their own political judgments.
Read also:
NNPP denies adopting Tinubu as candidate in 2027 presidential election
