Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of science and technology, says he does not see any sure pathway to victory for presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in next year’s election.
The former senator representing Lagos central said it will be a miracle if Peter Obi wins the election.
Mamora said this when he featured on a Channels Television programme, Political Paradigm, aired on Tuesday.
Obi’s candidacy has continued to generate buzz and dominate discussions on social media ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking during the programme, the minister said Obi doesn’t have the necessary structure in place to secure victory.
“What I see, with all due respect, is what you can call independent candidacy in Labour, and to the best of my knowledge, even in America, no independent candidate has ever won the presidency,” he said.
“They can win in the senate or house of representatives but not in the presidential. So, it will be a miracle of the century.
“I won’t dismiss it (support for Peter Obi) but it doesn’t seem to me that it will be as such as would cause havoc in this system at the end of the day.
“This is because we do our checks on a regular basis. We look at the spread; we look at the capacity on the ground. You see, you cannot underrate the role of structures in politics and particularly in elections because this is the reality. There are many logistics involved in electioneering,”
He also played down the support the LP and Obi are getting from labour unions and youths.
“The same way all these people are saying they will back Peter Obi is the same way they are saying they will back other candidates, especially those frontline candidates,” he said.