Is the President & Founder of Anap Foundation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, which paid money for the recent opinion poll ranking presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi ahead in the 2023 race, the architect of the Third Force venture Obi now represents?
In a tweet dated 30 May 2022, Mr Peterside said he was among those who advised the Labour Party candidate to withdraw from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary which Obi was slated to take part in before he joined LP.
According to Peterside, Obi did not have the financial capacity to contest the PDP primary and could not have created a third force while still in the party.
Some analysts have noted that the recent poll funded by Peterside may have been skewed in favour of Obi to give the impression of a “three-horse race” in the 2023 presidential election.
Quest Times had earlier reported the reaction of the Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s campaign team.
Kwankwaso’s campaign spokesperson, Mr Ladipo Johnson, said “I would take it with a pinch of salt. This is a known template. In this season we should expect many more dubious-sounding opinions, polls etc.”
ALSO READ: 2023: Peter Obi is Nigeria’s preferred candidate for President, poll reveals
According to one analyst who spoke to Quest Times; “the ANAP poll is just an exercise to give the impression that the 2023 presidential election will be a three-horse race when it’s, in fact, not. Any pollster of repute would have, at least, published details of the methodology alongside the report for replication and verification. Alas, someone just wants to get to the press ahead of time which is obvious with the report. There is no justification and statistical basis for the conclusion of that report.”
ALSO READ: 2023 Elections: Obidients, Nigerians our structure – Labour Party
A source familiar with both Atedo and Obi, who is also a political analyst based in Lagos said; “Atedo Peterside is just too much in a hurry to push Peter Obi as the ‘third force’ with this poll. Peterside and Obi were both chairmen of commercial banks and their relationship continued when both worked with the Jonathan government’s economic team even though Obi was Governor of Anambra state at the time. It is common knowledge that Peterside was a key player in the Economic Management Team and Obi was Jonathan’s key economic advisor.
“Peterside is simply doing his good friend a favour with that poll,” he said.
Another source said of the Peterside tweet, “So Atedo is an architect of Obi’s venture, in which case Obi has to come first in a poll paid for by Atedo. Common sense.”