Meet the man rallying 'Obi-dients' to shake up Nigeria's election. libbyegeorge reports.
Obi, 61, has generated substantial buzz among younger voters in Africa's most populous democracy, where the average age is 18, but the president - and both major-party candidates for the February 2023 election - are septuagenarian political veterans.
Young people accounted for half of voters in 2019, and 84% of the 10.49 million recently registered voters were aged 34 and below.Obi was Atiku's running mate in 2019, but said he lost faith in the nomination process. He is now running with the Labour Party, one of 18 registered political parties. "What is important is that people trust," he said, adding: "It is simple. You may not like me. But what I'm coming here to do will be different."Assets he controlled appeared in the Pandora Papers leaks, and during the 2019 campaign he and Atiku were challenged on their track records regarding corruption and investing government funds in private businesses, some of which they owned shares in, while in public office.
His gubernatorial tenure, he added, showed that he was unafraid of angering powerful interests to help the nation, and was more important to voters than his Christian faith or identity as an Igbo - an ethnic group where some members agitate for a breakaway nation.Obi said he is finalising specifics of his platform - such as how he would handle the tightly controlled naira currency or deal crippling fuel subsidies.
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