A political analyst, Henry Shield, has questioned the commitment of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) to the ambition of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
According to Shield, Obi’s decision to join the NDC may prove a strategic mistake.
The analyst, who spoke on Wednesday during AIT’s Political Platform, added that he does not trust the NDC National Leader, Seriake Dickson’s support for Obi as the party’s presidential candidate.
He questioned the NDC’s failure to openly market Obi as its presidential candidate, arguing that other major political parties and their supporters had already begun promoting their candidates ahead of the election.
“When Tinubu was national leader, Bisi Akande was the one addressing the people. Tinubu was the one coordinating from the back. Dickson is in front of everything.
“Every party at this time … APC is marketing Tinubu. You have the Renewed Hope agenda. You have CityBoys or whatever they call themselves. Everything about ADC now is Atiku, but NDC has not yet accepted that Peter Obi is its presidential candidate.
“What does it cost the party to market a Peter, who is their candidate?” he asked.
NEWSNGR reports that Shield also expressed doubts about Dickson’s commitment to Obi’s presidential bid, despite his public statements.
“I’m sorry, but I do not trust Dickson’s alleged support for Peter Obi. You are only dwelling on his press address. Go and watch everything,” he said.
According to Shield, Dickson had previously bragged about his own qualification to contest the presidency.
“Dickson was on TV claiming that he was as qualified as Peter Obi to contest for president, which might be true,” he said.
Shield also said a recent statement by the NDC suggests that the party appeared more interested in warning against attempts to take over its structure than in promoting Obi ahead of the election.
“All these press statements. Check their last 10 press statements. It’s been about, ‘You cannot come and hijack…’ Nobody is coming there to hijack your party. Some people misbehaved. The party structure should deal with them,” he said.
The analyst further insisted that the former governor had made a strategic error by choosing the NDC to contest the 2027 presidency.
“Now, you have three months to an election. Peter made a very strategic error by going to NDC. I’m going to be on record as saying this. I’ve said it severally. He made a strategic error. He didn’t make a decision like a proper Nigerian politician. He’s not going to be allowed to breathe,” Shield said.
