A member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has expressed confidence that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will find the 2027 presidential election easier than the 2023 contest.

Obi contested the 2023 election on the platform of the Labour Party, polling 6.1 million votes to finish third behind Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 6.9 million votes, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who won with 8.7 million votes.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Yesufu said the political movement that rallied around Obi in 2023 had already established a strong foundation ahead of the 2027 election.

According to her, the “Obidients” had to build their movement from scratch in 2023, but Obi’s growing visibility across the country would make the next election less difficult.

“2027 is even easier than 2023. In 2023, you know you had to put in all that work, ‘let’s start it and see.’ By the time we had the former governor of Edo State, he really helped us without knowing he helped us by refusing to allow us to have all those halls and everything, and Edo people coming out to say, ‘Hey, we are doing this.’

“That was when we had that shift, when people saw that this is possible, a new Nigeria is possible. But right now, everybody has seen it, Mr Peter Obi all over the country,” Yesufu said.

She also cited the alliance between Obi and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as a development that could further strengthen the NDC’s prospects in 2027.

“We have this alliance that has come between the Obidients and the Kwankwasiyya, and you are seeing Mr Peter Obi’s running mate, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, bringing in a whole lot into the union,” she said.

Yesufu further argued that the economic hardship confronting Nigerians could significantly influence voting decisions in the 2027 election.

She said many Nigerians were now more concerned about their economic wellbeing, arguing that religious considerations such as a Muslim-Muslim ticket would not address the hardship facing households.

According to her, the prevailing economic situation could therefore lead voters to reject the current administration at the polls.

Meanwhile, Obi’s convoy was stopped by youths in Benue State on Tuesday while he was travelling along the Gboko-Makurdi road to Yelwata, where he was scheduled to visit communities and families affected by recent violence.

The incident generated reactions in some quarters, with suggestions that Obi should have proceeded with the planned visit despite the disruption.

However, Yesufu defended the decision to discontinue the journey, describing it as a strategic decision rather than an indication of fear.

She described Obi as the “most courageous politician in Nigeria”, citing his previous visits to communities affected by insecurity.

“I have said this many times, there is no politician in Nigeria that is as courageous as Mr Peter Gregory Obi. That same Yelwata that he was going to, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not go there the last time, if I am not mistaken, where he said the road or whatever was bad.

“He went to Jos, that is someone who is supposedly called the Commander in Chief, he couldn’t even enter Jos. Mr Peter Obi has been to Benue before, this time he was going to that same Yelwata but you need to understand something, there is a place where someone has to be strategic.

“You have a lot of things to do, so if you are fighting people who don’t have work, it doesn’t make any sense at that moment,” Yesufu added.