From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

The political adviser to the Bayelsa Governor, Chief Collins Cocodia, has insisted that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has no structure to win the 2023 presidential elections.

Supporters of Obi had last weekend taken Yenagoa by storm in a mass walk from Tombia junction to Ox- Bow Lake.

Cocodia, who characterised Obi as a personality with uncommon and positive virtues that are expected of a leader who, if given the opportunity, might turn the fortunes of the country around, said a lack of structure will scuttle his presidential ambition.

Speaking at a radio participatory program, “Talk to Bayelsa”, on Glory FM 97.1, in Yenagoa, said that going back to the First Republic, small political parties have not been able to win at the polls due to their lack of a structural base.

According to him, such a structure is needed by any presidential candidate to secure votes at the various polling units across the country to emerge winner.

Cocodia stated that with a lack of the necessary structure, the former Anambra governor is about to suffer the same fate ahead of the 2023 elections.

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“First you need to have active persons support you, it is not about having youths hyping you on social media, no. It’s not about saying the youths have discovered one person and as such they will succeed, no,” he said.

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“One party is saying they don’t give shi-shi, let’s wait and see during political campaigns if all music instruments and spaces they will use will be free, if the vehicles people will go to the campaign grounds and boats will come free, and all the items and logistics that will be used, including posters, banners, and bill boards for campaigns will be free, so let’s stop deceiving ourselves.

“The political dynamics is so huge that it’s only when you are deep there you will be able to understand some of the things that make these big parties the way they are,” he said.

Cocodia maintained Obi remains one of the best candidates with a laudable vision, stressing however that he cannot single-handedly carry out his vision, as he needs his likes to work with him, since a tree cannot make forest.

On the followership in support of Obi’s candidacy, he said it is restricted to the urban centres, pointing out that he is barely known in communities across the country because no known political leader is canvassing votes for him.

“Let’s come back to the Bayelsa situation, how many of the 105 wards that we have have up to one percent of labour party chieftains. He cannot succeed anywhere. I took my time to talk to every person across the state and the result is the same. Rather, the SDP that has become an issue in Bayelsa is giving me more worries than the Labour Party.”

For instance, in my ward, show me one labour party man. His followers so far are city based. Go to the wards and the localities, people don’t even know who Peter Obi is.”