cash machine

Nigeria 2023: Peter Obi wants a slice of Diaspora’s $20bn to fund campaign

By Eniola Akinkuotu

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Posted on September 2, 2022 10:47

Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is pictured during an interview with Reuters at his residence in Lagos
Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, at his residence in Lagos, Nigeria August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, seeks to win the election that comes up in February next year, but this will not come cheap. In a bid to defeat established and wealthy rivals like Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, he has embarked on a tour of seven cities in the US, as well as Canada and Germany, to garner support. The snag: Nigerian law forbids international campaign financing.

“He no dey give shishi!” The slogan is popular among the young supporters of Peter Obi who see him as the only candidate capable of delivering the dividends of democracy, and clearing the systemic rot in Africa’s largest economy.

The phrase, in pidgin English, loosely translates to “Obi does not give out money to buy votes”.

It cropped up a few months ago when controversial and fiery Catholic Priest, Ejike Mbaka, accused Obi of being too stingy and prophesied that the gap-toothed ex-governor, who rose to prominence for his frugality and simplicity, would lose the election if he did not change his ways.

Ahead of the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party in May, when it was reported that aspirants could part with as high as $20,000 to bribe each delegate, Obi again said he was unwilling to play “cash and carry” politics.

Obi then decided to defect from the PDP to the

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