Peter Obi, Presidential Candi­date of the Labour Party (LP), is the top choice to become the next president, according to a new opinion poll, reports Bloomberg.

A clear majority of respon­dents said they intend to vote for Peter Obi, a former Anam­bra State governor, in elec­tions scheduled for February.

The results of the survey conducted for Bloomberg News by Premise Data Corp. were published on Wednesday as the official campaign to suc­ceed President Muhammadu Buhari kicked off.

Of the 92% of participants who said they’ve decided how to vote, 72% named Obi as their first choice. Of those who are still unsure, 45% said the 61-year-old is their preferred candidate.

The San Francisco-head­quartered data company sur­veyed 3,973 Nigerians from September 5-20.

Respondents to the app-based poll were selected from quotas developed by age, gender and location across the country’s six geopoliti­cal zones. Results were then weighted against the origi­nal quotas to ensure national representation. About 44% of Nigerians own smartphones, according to the Alliance for Affordable Internet.

The candidates of the two parties that have ruled Nige­ria since the restoration of democracy in 1999 fared less well. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) garnered 16% of decided voters and 23% of those yet to make up their minds. Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Dem­ocratic Party (PDP) tallied 9% and 17%, respectively.

A former two-term gover­nor of Anambra State, Obi is running on the ticket of the Labour Party, which won a single seat in the Senate and House of Representatives in the last election in 2019. The APC and PDP dominate both chambers of parliament.

‘Obidient’ Followers

In a relatively short time, Obi has built up an enthusias­tic base known as ‘Obidients’ — initially online, but increas­ingly in the streets — who aim to cause an upset on Feb. 25. Still, the Labour Party has a much smaller nationwide presence than the two rival parties, which are experi­enced at turning out voters across the vast West African country. Obi’s supporters will need to rapidly scale up their organisational infrastructure if they’re to capitalize on the campaign’s momentum.

Obi originally sought the PDP’s nomination before with­drawing from a party election that Abubakar, a former vice president and perennial pres­idential candidate, won in May. Tinubu, who used to govern the commercial hub of Lagos and is the most influential politician in South-Western Nigeria, triumphed by a land­slide in the APC’s primaries the following month.

The five-month race to the general elections gets under­way as Nigerians contend with soaring inflation, a plung­ing currency and pervasive insecurity. Production of the economy’s historical mainstay — crude oil — has also slumped to multi-decade lows, while the Buhari administration’s debt service bill in the first quarter of the year exceeded the reve­nue it was able to earn.

Three-quarters of respon­dents said that their country is heading in the “wrong direc­tion.” A combined 88% listed the economy and jobs, cor­ruption, and security — three pillars of the campaign that brought Buhari to power in 2015 — as the most important is­sues facing their communities.

Campaign Issues

Voters are most concerned about economy and jobs, cor­ruption.

More than 65% named Obi as the candidate best able to im­prove the economy, tackle cor­ruption and reduce insecurity. Tinubu ranked second on each measure, ahead of Abubakar.

Obi also came out in front in two other opinion polls pub­lished since September 15.

Despite the general disen­chantment about Nigeria’s tra­jectory, most respondents said that they trust the election to be run fairly and think their vote will make a difference — even if almost half expect the polls to be marred by violence.