Several young Nigerians in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, defied early morning rain on Saturday to take part in a scheduled solidarity march for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
The march tagged “2 Million March for Peter Obi”, was to show support for Obi, a former presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who defected to the LP.
Only a scanty crowd numbering not up to 3,000 took part in the man-match, an extreme far cry from the two million match proposed.
Rivers State and Port Harcourt were trending on Twitter Saturday morning, apparently because of the march.
“Yeah, this is Rivers State. It’s a rainy day, but we are out here for Peter Obi. Nothing can stop us. The rain cannot beat us. We are going to move for Obi,” a woman’s voice could be heard in the background of a video clip posted on Twitter.
The clip showed young people singing and dancing happily.
Another clip showed a large crowd of people waving the LP flags and chanting, “Obi! Obi! Obi!”
“We are not talking of paid agbero walks or rumours of walks. We are talking of a genuine one! Time to take back your country!” A Twitter user, @multimeverse, commented on the march.
A similar march has been organized for Peter Obi in other states.
Obi, a former banker and governor of Anambra State, has enjoyed growing popularity among Nigeria’s youth population
His promise to move Nigeria away from consumption to a production-based economy if elected president has resonated well among millions of Nigerians who hope that the 2023 elections could help reset the country’s struggling economy and also address poverty and insecurity.
He tweeted as the march was held Saturday morning: “We are watching as Port Harcourt, Auchi, Makurdi and Afikpo move OBIdiently today, under the sun and in the rain.
“Constitutional rights to peaceful assembly are protected and must be respected by all. Our labours will never be in vain. I appreciate you all.”
