In a recent interview aired on TVC News from 4:28, the National Publicity Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Mark Adebayo highlighted the unprecedented political feat achieved by Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi in the 2023 general elections.
Addressing debates over the relevance of political structures in Nigerian elections, Adebayo pointed to Obi’s performance as a testament to the growing power of the electorate over traditional political machinery.
“The other man was talking about structures,” he said during the interview. “Peter Obi did not have any structures anywhere, he didn’t have governors, he didn’t have senators, he didn’t have anything when he was able to gather a whooping six point something million votes in the 2023 election.”
Adebayo emphasized that the real structures in any democratic system are the people themselves. According to him, the support of ordinary Nigerians who believe in a candidate’s vision and integrity outweighs the influence of political office holders or entrenched party elites.
“It’s not about it,” he continued. “The real structures are the people, the real voters are the people. The people that will endorse you.”
Peter Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential race, where he garnered over six million votes despite limited political backing, has been widely seen as a major shift in Nigeria’s electoral landscape.
Political analysts and observers have described it as a wake-up call for the country’s dominant parties, signaling a growing appetite among the electorate for alternatives to establishment politics.
