- A new social media data have revealed the front-runners for Nigeria's 2019 presidential race
- Of the 73 presidential candidates for the race, three are neck and neck in social media engagements by Nigerians
- Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of the People's Trust seems to have emerged as the closest challenger to the two major parties
Of the 73 presidential candidates for 2019 presidential race, three are neck and neck in social media engagements by Nigerians, a new social media data have revealed.
According to the data, distilled from Facebook in particular, in the last 72 hours, the trio of Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of the People's Trust are in the front-line in that order.
The data revealed a new development in the race, noting that Olawepo-Hashim has surpassed other third force contenders to emerge the closest challenger to Buhari and Atiku.
The other 70 candidates were far behind the three leading candidates especially on Facebook engagements where the bulk of Nigerians voters are known to be actively involved.
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Facebook was used for the rating as it represents a diversity of active voters across the occupational and professional lines.
Facebook's geographical spread and acceptability also make it a good tool.
In the engagements' data, Buhari has 27+,000 while Atiku has 17+,000. Olawepo-Hashim came third with 15+,000.
Segun Asaolu of Public Opinion poll, said the use of data from Facebook added a level of credibility to the rating, adding that, “on Facebook, you have the real voters-artisans as well as professionals.”
“If the data had relied on Twitter, it would have been an unreliable measure of voters' engagements with the candidates. Facebook data fairly represent the voters. I however think the review has to be a continous exercise as data inflow changes every now and then,” he added.
On what the data in question imply, Asaolu said: “Olawepo-Hashim is climbing on voters' engagements while Buhari and Atiku appear static despite leading the pack.
“Other candidates are not in reckoning as their data are not just low but also declining. But like I said, the tracking has to be done every now and then.”
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Olawepo-Hashim recently boasted that he would defeat Buhari and Atiku in the February 16, 2019 presidential election through a ballot revolution.
He stated this at a town hall meeting in Abuja where he addressed scores of party members, declaring that he had sufficiently mobilized the grassroots in the collective task of giving better life to Nigerians.
He said the revolution was not to kill anyone but to save the people from the clutches and stranglehold of hunger and poverty, adding that it was time recycling of old politicians was stopped.
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Source: Legit.ng