The Lagos governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has dismissed claims that the support base of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s, could be diminished due to his defection from the Labour Party (LP).
He argued that those supporting Obi are motivated by his beliefs and principles rather than the political party he is affiliated with.
Naija News reports that Doherty said this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, following an attack on the party’s town hall meeting in Lagos.
He said Obi, retains a strong support base and has the backing to repeat his 2023 electoral performance in Lagos State.
“The idea of a new party is not something that we should hang our hat on anymore in our clime. Parties may be new, but the individuals involved are not new.
“But the reception of Peter Obi today, that is how it is everywhere he goes. This is a man who is loved by the people. They view him as a different kind of politician, for good reason, and those of us who align with that philosophy and thinking,” he said.
Doherty warned against underestimating Obi’s political influence, saying such an assumption could prove costly.
“Anybody who is making a contrary case, time will tell. But I would advise them that if they are saying that just to downplay his significance, I think it will be a grave mistake on their part because his support base is still strong. I have seen it, not just today, we have seen it multiple times,” he added.
He said the resistance by NDC supporters to the disruption of the party’s town hall meeting was evidence that the enthusiasm which characterised Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign had not diminished.
“Those guys came in today probably thinking they would have an easy ride of it. They would come in and do what they might normally do, scatter things and people would run away. But people were not in that frame of mind.
“We have laboured for this, and you cannot deprive us of it. And I think that spirit is alive and strong. To those who might think that, following 2023, people have lost some of that energy, I think, if anything, today should let us know that it is game on,” he said.
Doherty also condemned the attack on the party’s town hall meeting at Classic Event Place in Oregun, Ikeja, describing it as “unprovoked” and “unnecessary.”
