The Peter Obi Phenomenon (Thisdaylive)

Political pundits were anxious to know the direction of a former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, when he announced in late May that he had dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had also withdrawn from the race for the party’s presidential ticket.

Director General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe, had reportedly made the announcement after submitting a copy of Obi’s resignation letter to the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.  His resignation from the party and withdrawal from the race came as a surprise as many believed that he was using the race to negotiate for the vice presidential ticket of the party. 

Obi was the running mate of Atiku Abubakar in 2019 when the former vice president contested the presidential election on the platform of the PDP. It was not surprising that when Obi indicated interest to vie for the presidential ticket of the party ahead of the 2023 general election, many analysts believed that he wanted to emerge as a running mate to Atiku.  This belief was fuelled by the fact that he had no formidable structure to stand on his own.

The former Anambra State governor, however, shocked analysts when he announced his resignation from the party. It then became obvious that he meant business and only withdrew from the race after having realised that he stood no chances to win the party’s ticket.

However, many argued that he should have remained in the party, no matter the odds against him.