Some supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, have expressed mixed reactions over his visit to a controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi.
Mr Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, in a tweet posted on his Twitter, on Monday, paid a courtesy visit to the cleric at his residence in Kaduna State.
“Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed and I stopped by for a courtesy call on Sheikh Gumi at his official residence in Kaduna,” Mr Obi said in the tweet.
While the visit by the LP candidate, largely popular among Nigerian youth, may be seen as a mere political move ahead of the general polls, some of his supporters have, however, said they will withdraw their support for him.
As of the time of filing this report, the tweet had garnered thousands of comments, likes and retweets from his critics as well as supporters who felt betrayed by the visit.
With the spread of terrorism and banditry in the country, the Kaduna-based Islamic scholar has been under fire over his comments which have been interpreted in some quarters to be in support of terrorists and bandits
In a post, Ogwuefe Bunkoye questioned Mr Obi’s latest action and vowed not to vote for him in the coming election.
“Honest question Peter, do you feel happy that politics has turned you into this? Because, I’m no longer voting for you,” he said.
Nkem #PeterObi2023, cautioned the LP candidate against the urge to visit everyone under the guise of invitation. He described the cleric in question as a known ethnic bigot.
“Peter Obi, this bridge you are building, I hope it won’t connect with Buhari’s own at some point. Cause I don’t understand anymore,” another supporter, Fakoyejo Olalekan, asked.
Some supporters have, however, argued in defence of Mr Obi and his running mate.
Some said the LP candidate has made them more proud through his visit to Mr Gumi, since he remains an influential figure in the Northern region.
“This is what we call “Building bridges”. Gumi is also a Nigerian. No court has convicted him. Let’s build bridges. Even APC-dominated areas and difficult-to-reach areas will be reached,” @Morris_Monye noted.
Musa Dawa said, “this #Obidient team is a unifying team, with No discrimination, No Permanent Enemy but Permanent National Interest.”
“He went to Dunamis, Redemption Camp, etc and they said to visit the Northern clerics and Traditional Rulers. He has stopped by to meet with Gumi and now they are crying.
Questions:
Is Gumi a Criminal?
Is Gumi not a Nigerian?
Are there people that follow him?” another Twitter user, Udemba Esq asked.
Although other leading candidates have continued to underrate the possible influence of Mr Obi, the LP candidate has remained one of the most discussed candidates by the youth on Twitter.
