Despite his relationship with the promoters of a coalition of opposition political parties who are seeking to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has told his supporters that he would contest the next presidential election on the party’s platform.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Obi; former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and others had on March 20 in Abuja announced the formation of a coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
However, with Atiku’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi’s LP mired in internal political crises, the prospects of unity in the opposition have remained uncertain.
Speaking to a group of young supporters in a seven-minute, 16-second video, which was circulated on Saturday on the LP’s WhatsApp platform, Obi accused the APC-led government of being behind the crises in the two main opposition parties – PDP and the LP.
The former Anambra State governor narrated how the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, had forced the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to resolve its internal crisis.
When contacted by THISDAY, Obi’s spokesman, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, and the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Obi explained to his audience that what appears to be an internal crisis in the two dominant opposition political parties has the government’s imprint written all over them.
In response to a question on which platform he intended to contest the 2027 election, Obi said: “I will continue to run in the Labour Party. I’m a member of the Labour Party.”
While answering another question from a youth who was disturbed about what appears to be Obi’s aloofness towards the LP’s crisis, the former Anambra State Governor said: “What is happening in the Labour Party and the PDP is caused by the government. Quote me anywhere.
“We had a problem in our party (APGA) in the past. Yar’Adua was the president. I went to him then; he called the INEC Chairman (Prof. Maurice Iwu) and told him ‘I don’t want any problem in any party.’ We were forced to fix it.
“But today, in all the parties, there are problems. These are deliberate problems caused by the system. These are some of the things I want to clean up if I have the opportunity.
“Parties will function very well because you can’t have a system working without a strong opposition,” he explained.
Obi charged Nigerians to take responsibility for ensuring that their votes count, adding that even if agents are paid by political parties to look after their interests, the ultimate decision about the people’s votes counting rests with voters.
He appealed to Nigerian youths and the electorate not to be discouraged because positive change would also be resisted by those who are beneficiaries of the old order.
Obi equally noted that left to him, there should be a retirement age for politicians seeking public office.
He explained further that by the time the 2027 election holds, he would be 65 years old, adding that he would not want to be contesting for elections in his 70s.
The Obidient Movement had last week dismissed speculation that Obi was set to run as a vice-presidential candidate to Atiku in a new coalition being formed ahead of the 2027 elections.
The statement signed by the Director of Strategic Communication and Media for the Obidient Movement, Nana Kazaure, firmly declared that the report lacked any basis in fact and did not reflect Obi’s current political position or objectives.
While confirming that discussions about possible coalition were ongoing, the group stressed that Obi’s priority remained to forge a united front to address Nigeria’s deep-seated challenges, including corruption, bad governance, hunger, poverty, and the growing population of out-of-school children.
“This is not about power for power’s sake,” the statement read.
“It’s about building a politics that stands with the people and serves them.”
The Obidient Movement also affirmed that Obi remains a member of the LP, adding that if that ever changes, the former Anambra State Governor would announce it himself.
Chuks Okocha
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