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THE camps of the three leading presidential candidates, yesterday, disagreed over the ANAP poll, which showed Labour Party, LP, Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, as the favourite to win the 2023 election.

For the second time in four months, the survey concluded this month showed that Peter Obi is ahead of three other frontline candidates. The other three candidates are Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC; Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP.

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The poll conducted by NOI Polls Limited and commissioned by ANAP Foundation showed that “Obi had 23 percent, Tinubu scored 13, Atiku got 10 and Kwankwaso polled two percent in the fresh poll released in December,” Mr. Atedo Peterside, said on Channels Television, Politics Today programme, on Wednesday.

Peterside, the ANAP Foundation president, said the 2023 election has moved past a three-horse race, as said in an earlier poll released in September, to a four-horse race.

“Nobody has gained or lost more than two or three percent. I don’t know whether that is good news or bad news but it is as if nothing has happened fundamentally, no significant shift,” he said.

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Peterside said mobile phones were used to conduct the poll because of increased mobile phone penetration in the country, adding that a large percentage of people are undecided.

He added that the interest level in the next general elections was driven by economic challenges plaguing the nation such as poverty, and insecurity, noting that the appetite of the youths in this election was high and carpeted candidates, who have dodged presidential debates.

Tinubu’s focus is grassroots -SHEDDI

Reacting to the poll, Mr. Danjuma Sheddi, APC Senatorial Candidate in Taraba, who currently represents Ibi/Wukari Constituency of Taraba State in the House of Representatives, said the survey was centred on elites and social media users, who he said were not in anyway close to grassroots voters that want Tinubu.

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He said: “The sampled polls are mere assessment from social media users and from my experience in Nigeria’s politics, the report we are getting from the grassroots, which is our target as a party, is Tinubu all the way. The grassroots are over 60 per cent of the nation’s population, that is the direction of our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”

Survey’s hatchet job, Atiku strongest on ground- MELAYE

On his part, Spokesperson and Director Public Affairs of the PDP Presidential Campaign Management Committee, Senator Dino Melaye, described the poll as hatchet and tele-guided social media survey.

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He said: “The survey is rubbish and a hatchet man’s job. Peter can continue to win on social media and tele-guided surveys, while Atiku is winning in reality and on the ground.

“There is no polling unit on social media or laptops. Atiku is evangelizing and spreading the gospel of a new Nigeria.

“He is speaking to the very issue bedevilling our people and offering concrete solutions. Only Atiku among the candidates can unite our country and stop the pervasive insecurity and hunger that have collapsed our economy. The survey is made in Taiwan and only good for the trash”.

Call to work harder -LP

However, the Presidential Campaign Council of the Labour Party, welcomed the outcome of the survey describing it as a call to work harder.

Chief Spokesperson of the LP PCC, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, said: “We welcome it (poll). It points to the fact that Nigerians are identifying with our candidate and our message. For us, it means a call to work harder because there is still a lot of work to be done.

“While the poll is in our favour, we are not resting on our oars. We are not taking the support of Nigerians for granted.

“We know that the majority of Nigerians, like all of us in this campaign, are tired of failed promises, propaganda and lies which the current regime has unleashed on Nigerians.

“We feel the pain of several of our compatriots who for no fault of theirs are forced to live in abject poverty, insecurity and misery because of bad governance. We will continue to engage Nigerians from all walks of life to sell our candidate and our party manifesto.”

(Sun)