Die hard loyalists of Labour Party (LP) chieftain Peter Obi within the Obidient platform have expressed concern over possible next steps amid wide speculations that the opposition leader is set to dump the party.
According to sources, Peter Obi, the party’s presidential flagbearer in the 2023 elections, declared his intention to run again on the LP platform in the 2027 elections.
Obi reportedly weighs exit amid LP crisis
Following the LP’s protracted leadership crisis, plans have advanced for the former governor of Anambra to look for a another platform, as reported by Vanguard on Wednesday, December 17.
Recall that the LP has been embroiled in a leadership dispute for months, with Lamidi Apapa, Callistus Okafor, Nenadi Usman, and Julius Abure all vying to be the party’s rightful leader.
According to the publication, Peter Obi seems to have “succumbed to pressures from his key supporters and advisers” to leave the LP, according to a senior official of the party’s Senator Usman-led section who spoke in confidentially.
The source explained: “Those of us who have remained here are hoping against hope that the party’s troubles will simply go away, but they aren’t.
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“Obi’s support base cuts across party lines; we will work with him and for him on whichever platform he decides to run, but what happens to those of us who laboured to build the LP brand to become the third force in 2023? We had hoped to get some form of return on our investments in 2027 when we seek public office on this platform. His presence made the difference in 2023 and can surely add value in 2027, if he remains.”
The source added: “From all indications, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) does not have Obi in its plans. There were talks with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that one too appears to have collapsed.”
According to sources, Peter Obi is a member of the ADC alliance, which opposition leaders have chosen as a platform to run against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections. The 64-year-old head of the “Obidient Movement” said on 3 July that he did not make the decision to join the ADC alliance lightly and that it is in line with his goal of developing an inclusive political alternative. He hasn’t yet joined the ADC formally, though.
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