The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi along with some other political leaders from the Southeast geopolitical zone officially declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday.
They stated that, after months of consultations, they had decided to join the ADC and collaborate with other opposition leaders from across the country to ‘rescue Nigeria from the poor governance of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’.
Those present at the event included former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; Senators Ben Obi, Victor Umeh, Tony Nwoye, and Gilbert Nnaji; Chief Onyema Ugochukwu; Senator Enyinnya Abaribe; Senator Sam Egwu; as well as several other senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Other party leaders from across the country were also in attendance, including former Senate President David Mark, who is the National Chairman of the ADC; former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal; some former governors from the Southeast; and other dignitaries.
Obi, who is also a former Anambra State Governor under the banner of the All Progressives Grand Alliance between 2006 and 2014, urged Nigerians and opposition forces to unite under a broad national coalition to ‘rescue Nigeria from poverty, disunity and democratic decline’.
Obi, who was the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019, announced his defection to the ADC at the Nike Lake Resort, Enugu, where he delivered a New Year address, accusing the current political leadership of state capture, economic mismanagement and systematic erosion of democratic values.
‘This decision is guided solely by patriotism and national interest. I now respectfully call on my political associates, the Obidient Movement and opposition leaders across the country to join this broad national coalition under the African Democratic Congress. History will not forgive silence in moments of national peril’, he said.
Presenting his defection as part of a larger national mission, Obi said Nigeria had reached a critical turning point and could no longer afford politics of division.
He said: ‘As the year 2025 ends today, we stand on the threshold of a new beginning. For Nigeria, moments of profound national challenge demand clarity of purpose and decisive action. That moment is now’.
He described Nigeria as a nation in deep distress, citing widespread poverty, unemployment and insecurity, saying: ‘With over 130 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty and more than 80 million youths unemployed, our people are in persistent agony. This is not the destiny God bequeathed to over 220 million Nigerians.
Obi rejected claims that Nigeria’s crisis was inevitable, arguing that leadership failure, not lack of resources, was responsible.
‘As a nation, we are not poor; we are looted into poverty. Nigeria is not broken; Nigeria is severely betrayed. The average Nigerian is not lazy or incompetent, but the system is rigged to reward mediocrity and recycle failure’, he said.
The presidential hopeful accused the political elite of deliberately exploiting ethnic and religious divisions to remain in power.
‘Their expertise lies in creating more divisions to sustain themselves in office. With little or no interest in unity or inclusive development’, he said.
Obi issued a strong warning over the integrity of future elections, insisting that reforms of the electoral system were non-negotiable.
He cautioned against attempts to rig the 2027 general elections.
Drawing from his international engagements, he compared Nigeria’s trajectory with countries that have achieved rapid development through unity and effective leadership.
He also cited Indonesia as an example of how leadership choices matter, adding: ‘Indonesia and Nigeria started with similar characteristics. Bbut while Indonesia is now a trillion-dollar economy, Nigeria is grappling with de-industrialisation, corruption and deepening poverty’.
Obi criticised the Federal Government’s tax reforms, which become fully operational on 1 January 2026, describing them as anti-people and economically counterproductive.
He described reports of a forged tax law as a dangerous precedent. ‘A tax regime founded on forgery cannot build trust, unity or prosperity’, Obi said.
Positioning his defection as a strategic move toward 2027, Obi said opposition unity was essential to defeating what he described as ‘a government that thrives on division and propaganda’.
Obi and other political heavyweights such as s former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governors Rotimi Amaechi, and Nasir El-Rufai, among others, who earlier in the year declared for the ADC, setting the stage for a political battle to wrest power from the APC in 2027.
