Defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Labour party, LP, in Imo State, hoping to ride on the popularity of former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, to win the 2023 elections, will fail.
Obi is the Presidential candidate of the LP, whose popularity is on the rise after the APC and the PDP conceded its presidential tickets to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, respectively.
Speaking to select online media practitioners in Owerri, a former Councillor in Onuimo LGA, Hon Chidi Onwukwe, said gone are the days, the Imo electorate vote blindly, stating that those who defected to Labour party, after losing primaries in the APC and PDP are political opportunists who want to get victory at the general elections through Peter Obi’s popularity.
“It is strange how those who could not win primary elections in their parties, would want to take advantage of the popularity of another candidate to win in the general elections.
“The Imo electorate are wiser now. They cannot be fooled again. All that happened in the past.
“Gone are those days, when we had blind or what I call bandwagon voting, where every dick, tom and harry took advantage of the popularity of a particular candidate to ride to victory during elections.
“All that happened when our democracy was growing. Since 1999, we have had bandwagon voting. And it has not helped our democracy in anyway. It has affected the quality of governance, because the wrong people are eventually voted into office.
“In 2023, its going to be, who are you and what do you have to offer those you seek their mandate. The next elections will centre on the antecedents of the candidates.
Onwukwe said the Imo electorate has become sophisticated and cannot be fooled by cheap political gimmicks of desperate self seeking politicians.
“2023 is not 1999. Years have passed on, and we cannot continue to repeat the mistake of allowing those who ride on peoples back to win elections.” he said