Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has dismissed suggestions that Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, poses a major political threat to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general election.
Instead, the former Edo State governor argued that Obi’s impressive showing in the 2023 presidential election was largely driven by widespread public anger over the economic hardship caused by the cash crunch and fuel scarcity during the final months of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Oshiomhole made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines, where he rejected claims that the APC was underestimating Obi’s political influence after his victory in Lagos and strong performance across the South-East in the last presidential election.
According to him, Obi emerged from an “unusual situation” created by internal challenges within the ruling party at the time rather than from exceptional political strength.
“No, not at all. 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.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress President blamed the naira redesign policy and the fuel scarcity that preceded the 2023 polls for creating widespread voter dissatisfaction, insisting that many Nigerians could not access their own money despite having funds in their bank accounts.
He recalled that citizens spent hours at automated teller machines in vain and were forced to pay exorbitant charges to Point of Sale operators to obtain cash.
“People had money in the bank but couldn’t access it. They queued all night at ATM machines just to withdraw ₦10,000, and after a week, even the ATMs were dry,” he said.
Oshiomhole further argued that the economic hardship discouraged many Nigerians from supporting the APC at the polls.
“Someone asked why people would queue all night to withdraw ₦5,000, then queue again for fuel, and still expect them to queue on election day to vote for the same government. That anger was what produced Obi,” he stated.
The senator also recounted a conversation with a constituent who lamented the difficulties caused by the cash shortage, saying she lost part of her money to Point of Sale charges after failing to withdraw cash from her bank.
While acknowledging the hardship experienced by Nigerians, Oshiomhole maintained that the policies responsible were not part of the APC’s political agenda.
“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,” he added.
