On Monday, Governor Yahaya Bello dismissed the Anap poll that had Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) as the front-runner, arguing that online agitation is distinct from grassroots mobilisation.
The poll's findings, which were made public last week, showed that the former governor of Anambra is far ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the race.
Although Bello, an APC leader, acknowledged that Obi is doing well, the LP candidate's support base is primarily found online, which Bello claims does not convert to grassroots mobilisation.
“Peter Obi – I respect him. A gentleman, one-time governor; a businessman who everyone knows has engaged in several businesses including the importation of the majority of the products we consume today in the country,” the Kogi governor said during an appearance on a Channels TV programme.
“He is doing well in his own right but let me tell you: online agitation is different from grassroots movements and mobilisation.”
The governor recalled that prior to his re-election in 2019, several polls conducted in the north-central state projected his failure in the exercise.
“I simply laughed because they are not on the ground. They fly in the sky. They don’t move by the road,” the 47-year-old maintained.
“They don’t have a connection at all with the people. I knew exactly what I had put on the ground and the connectivity I had on the ground and I won the election like never before in the history of Kogi State.”
He also dismissed claims that Obi has the backing of Nigerian youths going into next year’s poll.
“Well, during the contest before the presidential primaries of all political parties, the only person that commands the respect and control of Nigerian youths is Governor Yahaya Bello,” he said during the show.