Aliyu Waziri, a leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), has disregarded pre-election polls that put Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), in the lead in the election for president on February 25.
The former Anambra State governor was referred to by the chieftain as a “learner” who lacked the necessary structure to win the election while criticizing the results.
At a press conference for the public presentation and launch of the book “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Builder of Leaders,” written by APC chieftain and political analyst Aliyu Butu, Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, he made this statement.
You may recall that a number of surveys conducted by national and international organizations showed that Obi was more popular than Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Waziri, the co-chairman of the event’s organizing committee, responded by saying that while Obi is a good team player, he cannot win the election based on actualities in the country.
“Projections are just projections,” he said. Obi is a capable team player who is still developing. We are working around the clock to make sure Tinubu wins. Nearly all of the grassroots support—nearly 99 percent—comes from the roughly 21 governors who are on our side. What matters is our candidate’s background. Take a look at what he accomplished in Lagos. When he is elected president, he will undoubtedly continue what he did to make Lagos the biggest economy in West Africa.
The book’s author, Butu, commented and said that compared to the other candidates running for president, Tinubu was a better builder of men with better character.
He promised that the former governor of Lagos State would lead the nation better than his rivals, adding that “he will be sage, strong-willed, and effect the needed change in the country.”
“So many of us here and others holding various offices have received his (Tinubu’s) support. Even before Tinubu declared his intention to run for the top job, I began writing this book. He is a father figure and a mentor to us.
“I want to introduce Asiwaju to the entire world and demonstrate how he has developed leaders in Nigeria from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Asiwaju has built a large network of allies, including the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, governors, and lawmakers.
“When military elites and political capitalists were frustrating Buhari, Tinubu helped him get through a difficult time and made sure he won the election. We will continue to support Asiwaju because I think he can change the situation.
Agbor Major, the NNPP’s spokesperson, claimed that the majority of polls provided inaccurate results in an effort to elevate particular candidates to the position of front-runner.
More concerning, he added, is the fact that the majority of media outlets have fallen for this joke, which has far-reaching implications for the legitimacy of the elections and the safety of the nation. One cannot hold the media responsible for publishing these false opinion polls, but they should be cautious not to celebrate these lies in their reporting.
These phony polls may be being conducted by the so-called groups in an effort to: “Conspire with some candidates to mislead the public and give unfair advantage to some preferred candidates.
“Deceive the undecided voters to divert their focus to a winning candidate who has received dubious praise. Discourage supporters of rival candidates in order to persuade them to back the falsely acclaimed front-runner.
Set up a crisis booby trap in case the candidate who was criminally promoted loses by claiming the election was rigged.
We must not quickly forget what happened in 2011, when the nation was plunged into an unavoidable crisis as a result of allegations of election rigging brought on by phony polls circulated prior to the vote.
The evil of fake pollsters and the laxity of authorities destroyed many lives and properties. Therefore, it is appropriate to urge all of these people who create phony public opinion polls to stop putting the nation into danger. We also urge security agencies to be aware of their duties and show more interest in the activities of the shady social media public opinion polls warriors.
We cannot sit back and allow egotistical and dishonest people to worsen the tense situation we are currently experiencing in our beloved country by publishing phony opinion poll results, which are just as risky as publishing phony election results. They are a recipe for governmental crisis, anarchy, and political upheaval.
