A viral claim sweeping social media says Peter Obi, the Labour Party standard-bearer and two thousand and twenty-three presidential runner-up, will not get a single vote in the South-South because the All Progressives Congress has supposedly taken over all six states, namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers. While it is true that APC has made some gains in the region, the claim oversimplifies a more complex political reality.
In the twenty twenty-three presidential election, Peter Obi performed strongly across the South-South. He won Delta and Edo states outright, pulling over four hundred thousand votes in Delta and more than three hundred thousand votes in Edo. In Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Cross River, he trailed behind the Peoples Democratic Party candidates, but still recorded significant numbers, often over one hundred thousand votes per state. Overall, Obi garnered more than one million two hundred thousand votes across the South-South, which was more than the votes collected by President Bola Tinubu of the APC, who received approximately one million and fifty thousand votes in the zone. These figures show that the South-South is far from being a monolithic bloc entirely in APC hands.
As of December two thousand and twenty-five, APC governs four of the six South-South states due to high-profile defections from the PDP and strategic federal patronage, including infrastructure projects and allocation of oil revenues. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, while Bassey Otu in Cross River has long been an APC loyalist. However, Bayelsa under Douye Diri and Rivers under Siminalayi Fubara remain under PDP control, acting as bulwarks against a complete APC sweep. This means that, despite defections and consolidation, the APC does not control all the South-South states, contrary to the claims circulating online.
Peter Obi’s prospects remain alive, particularly among urban youth and supporters of economic reform. His strong showing in Delta and Edo in twenty twenty-three, combined with dissatisfaction with President Tinubu’s national approval rating, which has dropped to forty-five percent in late two thousand and twenty-five according to recent polls, suggests that there is room for a “third force” revival. Moreover, ongoing disputes within PDP circles, especially between Fubara and Wike in Rivers, could fracture APC support and create openings for the Labour Party.
In conclusion, while APC has made meaningful inroads into the South-South through defections and federal influence, claims that Peter Obi has no chance in the region are exaggerated. The South-South remains a contested political battleground, with votes far from being “taken over.”
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