Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has dealt a hard knock on the chances of Peter Obi in this month’s election, saying the one local government’s votes in his state would wipe out the votes of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Anambra.

He dismissed the former Anambra governor as a “Nollywood actor” who cannot muster the winning numbers at the polls.

“Kano is 4 million votes that actually happened, Anambra is what? The number of votes in Anambra is the size of one local government in Kaduna state,” Mr El-Rufai boasted on Thursday. 

Mr Obi is regarded as one of the top three contenders for Nigeria’s top job, alongside Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party and Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Garnering massive support among young Nigerians online and in his native southeastern region, Mr Obi, a committed Catholic, has repeatedly urged Nigerians not to vote based on tribe or religion. He said citizens should critically consider the character and competencies of candidates before casting their ballots for them.

Nonetheless, the diminutive Kaduna governor said on a live TVC programme that Mr Obi stands no chance at the February 25 polls.

He added that the fact that the LP candidate was gathering 70 per cent of the electorate in his home state of Anambra does not mean “somebody doing 10 per cent in Kano is not better than you.”

“Peter Obi win election? Peter Obi is polling one per cent in Sokoto, two per cent in Katsina, five per cent in Kano, these how the votes are, all states are not equal.

“Peter Obi can’t win the election, he doesn’t have the number of states, he doesn’t have 25 per cent in more than 16 states, he can’t go anywhere. Peter Obi is a Nollywood actor and that’s all he will be,” Mr El-Rufai said. 

He stressed that polling outcomes for Mr Obi outside his South-East base were abysmal.

“He is not polling well in the South-West other than a drop of the ocean in Lagos, he is polling in Christian enclaves in the North, he is polling well but how many are they? How many?” Mr El-Rufai queried. 

According to the Kaduna governor, the presidential election is between the PDP and APC who already have an existing structure spread across the country. 

“This election is between the APC and the PDP because they have the footprint, they have the spread. 

“Ethnicity and religious bigotry will not take you anywhere and that’s what the Labour Party can be.”