The stage is set for the battle for the 2027 presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Yesterday, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the opposition party, which serves as the platform for coalition forces led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Contrary to the general feeling that ADC is being repositioned for the realisation of Atiku’s presidential ambition, Obi’s defection may have set up the battle with the Adamawa-born politician for the ticket.
Obi, who ran for president on the platform of the LP in 2023 defected to the ADC during the meeting of Southeast party chieftains held at the Nike Lake Resort in Enugu, capital of Enugu State.
He was received into the fold by the Interim National Chairman, former Senate President David Mark, who applauded him for the bold step.
Mark said Obi’s entry into the ADC signalled the return of the Southeast to the centre of national decision-making, adding that it is a clean break from politics of exclusion, deceit and broken promises.
The Southeast geo-political zone which was controlled mainly by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1991, is now dominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ruling party has three governors – Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) controls Anmabra, while Labour Party holds sway in Abia.
Mark added: ‘Together, we will enthrone internal democracy, respect for party members and people-oriented governance. Our collective vision is a secure nation, a productive economy driven by true federalism, massive job creation, youth and women inclusion’.
He assured new members of mutual respect, fairness, transparency and genuine partnership within the party, urging them to integrate into party structures, mobilise at the grassroots and deepen the ADC’s presence across the Southeast and beyond.
Mark said: ‘This event is not just a reception; it marks the foundation of a strong and winning national coalition. ADC is your home. Together, we will rewrite Nigeria’s political story and secure a better future for generations to come’.
Justifying his defection, Obi said it was guided by patriotism and the overriding national interest.
He said he had decided to team up with ADC leaders to liberate the country from leadership failure.
Southeast ADC stalwarts hailed the defection, saying that it would offer a veritable integrative platform for the zone.
Obi called for unity, credible elections and purposeful leadership to pave the way for socio-economic transformation.
He said Nigeria was at a historic crossroads, stressing that moments of deep national crisis demand courage, clarity of purpose and decisive action.
Obi said: ‘My decision to join the ADC is guided solely by patriotism and national interest. We must rescue Nigeria from division, injustice and ineffective leadership, and return power to the people’.
He lamented what he described as the systematic erosion of democratic values, electoral malpractice and institutional weakness, insisting that electoral integrity should be the foundation of national rebirth.
Obi called for the reforms of the electoral process, particularly the strengthening of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), credible transmission of results and strict adherence to electoral laws ahead of the 2027 general election.
The former governor decried rising poverty, youth unemployment, insecurity and corruption, saying that over 130 million Nigerians were living in multidimensional poverty.
But the Julius Abure faction of the LP chided Obi for compounding the party’s protracted crisis before leaving.
The faction apologised to Nigerians for fielding him as candidate in the last general election.
Abia State Governor Alex Otti, the only governor elected on the ticket of the LP, said although Obi informed him before leaving the party, he has no intention of abandoning it.
Also, Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, who reacted to the defection, said Obi cannot lead Nigeria because nations are built with home-grown policies and not cut-and-paste ideas.
It was the third time the former governor would change parties since 2013 when he completed his two terms as governor.
In 2019, he defected from APGA on the platform in which he ruled Anambra State to PDP, where he paired with Atiku as running mate during the poll.
In 2023, Obi, who also left the PDP to LP to run for president, came third during the election, trailing Atiku of PDP and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC.
Others at the event were Senator Aminu Tambuwal, Dr. Pat Utomi, Senator Ben Obi, Senator Tony Nwoye, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Chief Simon Okeke, Mrs. Josephine Anini, Idu Emeka, Sheumi, Harrison Ogara, Achike Udenwa, Sam Egwu, Okwesilieze Nwodo and Emeka Ihedioha; Senator Victor Umeh and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe;
Ihedioha, a former Imo State Governor, who moved the motion for the adoption of the ADC as a platform for Southeast stakeholders, said the region had suffered prolonged exclusion from the centre since 2015 and required a credible vehicle to guarantee inclusion, relevance and effective participation in national governance.
He urged political leaders and supporters in the region to register massively with the ADC as a historic step towards restoring balance, justice and national cohesion.
I’m not leaving LP, says Otti
Otti said he has no intention of leaving LP, unless efforts to redeem the party fail.
The governor, who reacted to the defection during his media chat at Umuahia, the state capital, said: ‘I joined Labour Party before Peter Obi. I didn’t join the Labour Party with him. He communicated me that he was leaving Labour Party and I gave him my blessings, but I remain in Labour Party’.
He added: ‘I told him that I will have to continue the struggle to rescue Labour Party. That’s the party that brought me to power.
‘If we fight and get to the end and we can’t retrieve Labour Party, then, we can now discuss options. But for now, I am not defecting with him’.
Abure: Obi unfit as candidate
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the Abure LP-faction said the former governor had lost the 2023 charm.
Ifoh mocked his defection speech, describing it as ‘lacklustre’, and ‘wondered what new he intends to sell to Nigerians’.
He said the party was finally liberated by Obi’s defection, adding that it is a blessing.
The statement reads in part: ‘It will be on record that the leadership of the Labour Party had since urged Obi and his disgruntled followers to exit the party if they were unable to work with the leadership of the party.
‘As a matter of fact, the party had suspended many of the lawmakers for anti party and was clearly going to meet the same treatment on the Presidential Candidate but for the intervention of some well meaning Nigerians.
‘The crisis we had in the Labour Party was caused by Peter Obi and the Abia state governor, Dr. Alex Otti. It was them that sponsored the insurrection against the Julius Abure leadership. We had also expected Governor Otti to follow Obi out of the party. We are surprised that even though he has been suspended from the party, he is still loitering around. It is still not too late for him to follow his political leader’.
Why Obi can’t lead, by Onanuga
Chiding Obi for hypocrisy, Onanuga said no country can achieve sustainable development by simply copying ideas and models from other nations without regard to local realities.
In a post on Onanuga’s verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, Onanuga said that leadership requires originality and deep understanding of a nation’s peculiar circumstances, not imitation of foreign experiences.
He said: ‘Nations are not identical, and what worked in Indonesia or the USA may not necessarily work in Nigeria. No leader can move a country forward by simply copying and pasting models from elsewhere. Nations require original thinkers, not copycats. Homegrown solutions are essential for proper development’.
The presidential aide noted that Obi had abandoned the party he used to pursue his ‘ill-fated’ presidential ambition in 2023, adding that nearly three years after the election, he is still aggrieved about the outcome.
He said: ‘About three years after the 2023 election, Obi, the wandering politician, who moved from APGA to PDP to Labour and now ADC, still sounded bitter about coming third.
‘He continues to claim he was robbed of victory, even though empirical analyses of the poll showed he could not have won and was fortunate to even emerge third because of the anomalous polling figures recorded for him in his South East region’.
In tweet on his X, Atiku expressed the hope that Obi’s defection would deepen relationship.
The tweet reads: ‘Today marks a significant moment in the history of political coalitions in our country, with the official declaration of my brother and associate, Peter Obi, into the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
‘It is my pleasure to welcome him officially, as we look forward to a robust working relationship that will foster a virile opposition, one that will ultimately form a government capable of bringing prosperity and peace to our people’.
‘Obidient Movement will follow Obi to ADC’
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, said the supporters will follow Obi to the ADC.
Speaking on phone, he said: ‘We have made our position categorically clear right from the beginning that wherever Peter Obi is going we are going with him. We will make a declaration soon.
‘You can see at the declaration today that it was the Obidient Movement logo and that of the ADC. That is to tell you that we are stepping our foot where Obi steps his own foot. There is no ambiguity in that regard’.
