2023: “Even if Obi had got 10 million votes, he wouldn’t have won” — Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi would not have won the 2023 presidential election even if he had secured 10 million votes.

Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s *State Affairs Podcast*, Mohammed argued that the outcome hinged not only on total votes but on meeting the constitutional spread across states. He noted that a candidate must secure at least one-quarter of votes cast in no fewer than 25 states to be declared winner.

“Even if Obi had got 10 million votes, he wouldn’t have won. This is because he still could not get one-quarter of the votes cast in 25 states,” Mohammed said. He also claimed that Obi did not deploy agents to about 40,000 polling units.

Reflecting on the dynamics of the 2023 election, Mohammed said ethnicity and religion featured prominently in the political climate, particularly in Lagos State.

“For the first time in the history of politics in Nigeria, ethnicity and religion played a very frontal role,” he said.

He added that the #EndSARS protests influenced voter sentiment among youths in Lagos, saying many “wanted a pound of flesh,” which he said worked against the APC and Bola Tinubu.

Mohammed also drew a distinction between presidential elections and other contests such as governorship and National Assembly races, describing the latter as more personal to voters.

“In presidential elections, a man might not be affiliated with any of the candidates. But when it comes to governorships, it is particular and peculiar because the candidate lives in the state,” he said.

On President Bola Tinubu’s approach to political alliances, Mohammed said the president remains supportive of associates even after electoral losses.

“Asiwaju is not the kind of person who will drop his support for you because you have lost the election. He will still encourage you,” Mohammed said.

He added that Tinubu’s political strategy is often overlooked because of his personable style, describing him as someone with a deep understanding of Nigerian politics.