Peter Obi Ally Babachir Lawal Predicts Atiku’s Victory At First Ballot, Gives Reason

Peter Obi Ally Babachir Lawal Predicts Atiku’s Victory At First Ballot, Gives Reason

Adamawa-born politician Babachir Lawal has projected opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar to win the first ballot in the 2023 presidential election, a poll he had predicted will go into a run-off.

Mr Babachir, a former APC chieftain who defected to support Peter Obi of the Labour Party, predicted that Mr Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party would win the North.

In a Hausa interview on Thursday, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation stated that “Atiku will sweep the northern states and obtain the required 25% in all states and the FCT.”

Mr Lawal explained the reasoning behind his projection, saying, “The 2023 election has gone fully tribal, and people are likely to vote along ethnic lines.”

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“Yoruba will for a candidate from the West, (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) of the All Progressives Congress; Igbo will vote candidate from the East, (Peter Obi of the Labour Party) and Hausa will vote for a candidate from the north, (Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party).

Mr Lawal was a close ally of Mr Tinubu until recently, when he disagreed with the latter over his choice of a Muslim running mate, Kashim Shettima. Mr Lawal, a well-known pastor, insisted that the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket is a slap in the face to northern Christians and would not be accepted.

He officially announced his support for Mr Obi last week, saying the Labour Party’s flag bearer and running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, represented a national agenda befitting a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Nigeria.