The Peoples Democratic Party, have rejected a fresh opinion poll conducted by NOI Polls Limited and commissioned by ANAP Foundation, which put presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, ahead of other major counterparts.
Speaking on Channels Television, on Thursday, President of ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside, said Obi’s popularity has gone beyond the realm of social media, noting that the recent poll showed that the Labour Party candidate is truly popular among Nigerians few weeks to the election.
The poll revealed that 23% of the surveyed population opted to vote for Obi, while, the trio including, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party had 13%, 10% and 2% respectively.
Peterside said, “Nobody has gained or lost more than 2, 3 per cent. I don’t know whether that is good or bad news but it is as if nothing has happened fundamentally, no significant shift.
“Undecided voters and those who prefer not to reveal their preferred candidates add up to a whopping 29 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
“The gender split of undecided voters shows that 38 per cent of women are undecided versus 21 per cent of male voters.
“The result was polled from 1, 000 respondents after which ANAP Foundation conducted similar polls with 2,000 and 3, 000 respondents sample size. However, the difference in the results was not significant.”
Reacting to the development however, the spokesperson of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Dino Melaye, disagreed with Peterside, insisting that Obi’s popularity remains only on social media.
Melaye stated, “That (NOI Poll) is rubbish and a hatchet man’s job. Peter can continue to win on social media and teleguided surveys, while Atiku is winning in reality and on the ground. There is no polling unit on social media or on laptops. Atiku is evangelizing and spreading the gospel of a new Nigeria.
“He is speaking to the very issues bedeviling our people and offering concrete solutions. Only Atiku among the candidates can unite our country and stop the pervasive insecurity and hunger that have collapsed our economy.
“The survey is (sic) made in Taiwan and only good for the trash.”
