The race for the Nigerian presidency is heating up with the emergence of Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party, as the front-runner in the election. Despite being dismissed by political opponents as a “social media candidate,” Obi has gained significant traction and has been leading in six polls, including two conducted by San Francisco-based data analytics company, Premise, for Bloomberg.
The polls take into account Nigeria’s electoral demographics and estimate that 74% of the voting age population have access to smartphones. However, the ruling All Progressives Congress and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party remain skeptical of Obi’s chances and claim that his appeal is too thinly spread across the country’s states.
Nevertheless, Obi’s rise has been fueled by the growing disenchantment with the political status quo, and his campaign has attracted a growing following known as “Obidients”.
Source: Bloomberg
