From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Obi/Datti presidential ticket is facing a formidable challenge that may checkmate its performance in the February 25, 2023 general election.
An official of the Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Barrister Nina Atalor has raised the alarm that the in-house structure built by the ‘Obidient Movement’, which has popularised the Labour Party presidential candidates and remains their backbone has almost collapsed due to negligence, abuse and un concern.
In a document titled A Call to Action, addressed to Peter Obi, Yusuf Datti, Chairman Labor Party, Julius Abure, Director of Finance, Director of Finance and campaign directors and managers, Atalor, who, according to THISAGE investigation, administers a WhatsApp group that coordinates the over 500 support groups of the Obi/Datti candidacy, listed the growing apathy among the groups.
According to her, the support groups which have become a force to reckon with in the party and country, may vote with their feet and leave the party chances in the general election in jeopardy.
She said, in party, “Long before the ObiDatti Presidential Campaign Organization commenced operations, the support groups had long hit the streets with their various expressions of support and confidence in our Principal, they held several rallies all over the country showing their support and belief in our Principal, they spent their personal funds, sacrificed their valuable time, some even burnt some political bridges, stood in the scorching sun and even in the rain with little or no financial support from anybody.
“They were also all over social media making sure that the streets of social media understood the need for our Principal to be voted into power. They had started changing the narrative and changing the definition of STRUCTURE so much so that the political elites visibly became threatened as it became clear to all and sundry that it was no longer business as usual. Support groups have never been this unified, this formidable and this resolute about this singular goal of getting His Excellency Peter Obi in to Aso Rock as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“It is however worrisome to note that this fire is burning out and doubts are creeping in. As the focal person for support groups at the Presidential campaign organization and in the course of my constant interaction with the support groups, I can say that we at the campaign organization as well as the labour party are grossly to blame for this.”
She then went on to list ways the party and PCC is mismanaging things and made recommendations in the areas of funding, support with campaign materials, closing communication gap and inclusion.
In his reaction, Malam Tanko Yinusa, Chief Spokesperson for the PPC, told THISAGE, that the party was aware of the document and has made plans to address issues raised in it to the.
He said, “I have just come out of a meeting with our presidential candidate and we all meeting with all groups working for the party. But we must realise that the movement cannot deliver Obi because it has no legal backing to deal with INEC. Only the political party can do so. We are however open to negotiations and the party, the movement and the ‘Obidient Movement’, and PCC must work together. No, there is no move to neglect the movement. We are all going to work together to deliver our candidate. They should rest assured that that their case would be resolved and we are determined to work together.”
Full text of the Document
A CALL TO ACTION!
TO:
LABOR PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL
Attention:
- H.E Peter Obi
- H.E. Yusuf Datti
- Chairman Labor Party
- NOS , Labor Party
- Campaign Manager, PO Campaign Organization
- Director of Operations, PO Campaign Organization
- Director of Finance
- Director of Administration
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MAXIMIZATION OF OUR SUPPORT GROUPS
The Support groups (the OBIdients) have become a force to reckon with and have indeed shown their unwavering support for our principal; His Excellency, Peter Obi and have in various ways displayed their willingness to turn their support into votes during the elections. They have also constituted the much awaited structure that is supposed to compliment the Labor Party if our policy regarding them are made effective and well designed.
It behoves us to maximize these support groups as vehicles used for effective:
o Grass root mobilization
o Sensitization
o Awareness
o PVC collection
o Voters’ education
o Campaign Rallies
o Data collation/Polling Agents
o And voting (across all wards and polling units come 2023)
o And in some cases, Fund Raising
Support groups are predominantly made up of youths and some senior citizens who are disgruntled with the state of affairs of the country as they are the hardest hit by the failing economy, their memberships cuts across all spheres of life from professors to artisans to core professionals to students to traders and includes all the demo-graphs all sharing one thing in common, the desire for a better Nigeria that works and to this end have jointly identified His Excellency Peter Obi as the best candidate to make this a reality.
Long before the ObiDatti Presidential Campaign Organization commenced operations, the support groups had long hit the streets with their various expressions of support and confidence in our Principal, they held several rallies all over the country showing their support and belief in our Principal, they spent their personal funds, sacrificed their valuable time, some even burnt some political bridges, stood in the scorching sun and even in the rain with little or no financial support from anybody. They were also all over social media making sure that the streets of social media understood the need for our Principal to be voted into power. They had started changing the narrative and changing the definition of STRUCTURE so much so that the political elites visibly became threatened as it became clear to all and sundry that it was no longer business as usual. Support groups have never been this unified, this formidable and this resolute about this singular goal of getting His Excellency Peter Obi in to Aso Rock as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is however worrisome to note that this fire is burning out and doubts are creeping in. As the focal person for support groups at the Presidential campaign organization and in the course of my constant interaction with the support groups, I can say that we at the campaign organization as well as the labour party are grossly to blame for this. Some of the ways we have made ourselves culpable include but is not limited to the following
- STRAINED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LABOUR PARTY AND SUPPORT GROUPS
There is no gainsaying that Labour Party though an emerging 3rd force doesn’t have the numerical strength in terms of membership across the nation but the support groups can be found in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. It would clearly be beneficial to our Principal if Labour Party can have better engagements with the support groups that would be favourable to all parties.
- SCARCITY OF CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
Support Groups have shown a nouveau level of selflessness that is rarely found in the political space. I receive several calls/requests on a daily basis for campaign materials I.e fliers, posters, stickers, dummy ballot papers etc to use in creating voters awareness and sensitization in very remote areas without asking for any funds or sometimes little funds and we at the campaign office don’t have the materials to give them not to talk of funds.
- POOR ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN OUR PRINCIPAL AND THE SUPPORT GROUPS
The Support Groups have displayed one of the purest forms of love and acceptance for our Principal and have often requested for meetings with him, while I am aware that our Principal has honored invitations to some meetings however, a lot of these support group members haven’t had such a privilege, this is creating a feeling of disconnection from the principal especially when they see a particular set of support group members around him over and over again,
- FUNDING OF SOME KEY CAMPAIGN PROJECTS
The issue of funding for aspects of the campaign like uploading Polling Unit Agents, getting grass root mobilizers and sensitizers to hit the ground cannot be ignored. This requires actively engaging verified support groups and funding these activities, it is pertinent to point out that some have already started with their own funds and supporting them at this point would not only be in our best interest but will also re-energize them.
- THE DEFUNDING OF SUPPORT GROUPS FOR RALLIES
The OBIdients are the core supporters of our Principal’s movement. They have in the past spent their own money on the various one million match rallies that occurred all over the country sometimes concurrently and at other times consecutively which were hugely successful as the turnout was massive and the energy undeniable, sadly this energy has dwindled so much so that the last 4 rallies in the south south region which is considered to be part of our principal’s stronghold had a low turnout.
Only 2.5 million naira was allocated for each of the states, even though there were more support groups registered in this region. Akwa Ibom alone had over 250 support groups. This money came very late and was too little(N10,000)for any tangible thing. In cross river, the money was also little and it came late
such that several supporters from northern cross river couldn’t make it (it takes 9 hours to move from northern cross river to Calabar)
Furthermore, the support groups who are the heart beat of this movement watched in dismay as huge funds were given to the labour party chairmen of these states and they (support groups) were given just 2.5million naira to share amongst themselves. The Labour Party State Chairmen who were mobilized to provide transportation from all the wards failed to do so and this in turn affected the turnout as the OBIdients were ready to come out but no vehicles were made available.
I can categorically state that this act broke their heart and is gradually snuffing out the life of this movement because they feel cheated. They have been working so hard only for them to be sidelined at this point. It is grossly unfair and should be corrected as soon as possible.
As a result of this defunding, I have experienced so much hostility and anger and frankly speaking I feel their pain and have had to constantly cajole, beg and even encourage them to keep on that something would be done about it
- TIMING
Timing as they say is everything. The time within which funds are released to us, and we start disbursing is sometimes not practical e.g of this was in Kogi state. The desired result may not be achieved.
- INSUFFICIENT & LATE DELIVERY OF BRANDED MATERIALS FOR THE RALLIES
The branded materials usually distributed during rallies have never been sufficient (about 10-15 t shirts & face caps per support group that is made up of over 60 persons each) but in this south south region that number even dropped. In Bayelsa, I took delivery of only 36 pieces of T shirts and 7 pieces of face caps for all the support groups. The support groups found this very frustrating and were further riled up.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS:
- a) Campaign rally dates should be announced well ahead of time to create ample time for preparation.
- b) Publicity should be done, and Campaign materials given ahead of rallies for grass root sensitization in the different states across the Country. This will make the presence of our Party felt and create awareness for our Principal, Peter Obi and his Vice, Datti Yusuf.
- c) Campaign materials and funds should be released well ahead of time in Abuja (FCT) to avoid late mobilization of the support groups as this in turn disrupts effective mobilization and results, wearing people out and causing unnecessary issues for both the Campaign Organization and Support groups
- d) Increase of campaign materials and funds for a better result. This will also encourage the support groups in carrying out the task before them.
- e) Support Groups meetings with our principal.it could be at a regional level.
- f) More funds should be allocated to the Support Groups, i.e. turn the tables; more of the funds should go to the support groups than what is currently allocated to them.
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The support groups will effectively utilize all resources and people (professionals who are part of these support groups) as the support groups are characterized by highly skilled, experienced and intelligent individuals who are passion about our Principal, Peter Obi becoming the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Best Regards
BARR. NINA ATALOR
SUPPORT GROUPS FOCAL PERSON
