The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidates have rejected the results of a poll conducted by NOI Polls in early September which claims that the 2023 presidential election is a three-horse race between the candidates of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi; All Progressives Congress, Mr Bola Tinubu; and Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, with Obi having an edge.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council rejected the polls describing it as “irresponsible, unscientific and biased.”
Also, the Atiku Campaign Organisation faulted the process and results of the poll, saying it lacked basics of a poll.
The poll, which was commissioned by Anap Foundation, showed that while both Tinubu and Abubakar were tied in the second position with 13 per cent each, Obi had 21 per cent with Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party polling three per cent.
According to a statement issued by Anap Foundation and signed by its chairman, Mr Atedo Peterside on Thursday, “The results showed a significant lead for Mr. Peter Obi with 21 per cent of voters proposing to vote for him if the presidential election were to be conducted today; and 13 per cent each proposing to vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who are both tied in second place. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso was a distant fourth with 3 per cent of voters proposing to vote for him.
“Mr. Peter Obi’s 8 percentage point lead at this early stage is significant, but not sufficient to separate him completely from a leading pack of candidates scoring 21 per cent, 13 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.”
The statement added “Undecided voters and those who prefer not to reveal their preferred candidate add up to a whopping 32 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The gender split of undecided voters shows that 39 per cent of women are undecided versus 27 per cent of male voters.”
Anap Foundation also stated the September 2022 Polls were inconclusive in terms of establishing a clear winner, as the undecided voters were large enough to turn the tables. “However, Anap Foundation has concluded that the trends are clear enough to establish the front runners and so our subsequent polls will concentrate on the four leading candidates only.”
In a statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, the ruling party said it was unperturbed by what it described as ‘dubious NOI polls’.
The statement reads further, “The attention of the APC Presidential Campaign Council has been drawn to a poll conducted by the NOI Polls which made wild and incredible permutations on the presidential elections.