Dele Momodu: Rallies don’t win elections — Obi will struggle in south-west

Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, says Peter Obi, presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP), will not get “appreciable results” in the south-west.

On October 7, the PDP presidential campaign council appointed Momodu as its director of strategic communications.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Monday, Momodu said the race for the presidency in 2023 is solely between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said although Obi is popular among the youth, the support won’t lead to victory because “noise” and “rallies” don’t win elections.

“By the time you come to Lagos which is the traditional base of Asiwaju and of APC, you’re going to split into three because of the preponderance of the Igbo community,” he said.

“There would be Asiwaju, followed by Atiku and followed by Obi because there is a large number of Igbo people there and youth who believe in Obi. And that’s the most cosmopolitan state in Nigeria.

“But the moment you start moving into Ogun state, Oyo state, where PDP is king today, then you go to Osun state.

“In Ogun state, we will compete favourably. It’s going to be between Asiwaju and Atiku, there is no way Obi is going to get 25 percent in Ogun state, he is not going to get it in Oyo state, he’s not going to get it in Osun state.

“We can make all the noise. You saw what happened in the last gubernatorial election in Osun state. There was no party outside those two that could make an appreciable impact.

Speaking on the recent solidarity rally for Obi in Delta state, Momodu said there’s a likelihood that the participants are all from the south-east 

“Rallies alone will not win the 2023 election. I have no doubt that Peter Obi is a popular candidate but don’t forget the proximity of south-east to Delta state. They are almost one and the same,” he said.

“If you have a rally in the Delta, all you have to do is cross over from Awka, Onitsha and everywhere, these things can be arranged.”