Spokesman of the opposition coalition, Bolaji Abdullahi, has revealed that Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has been an integral part of the coalition from its inception.
Abdullahi, who is also the spokesperson for the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) the platform adopted by the coalition made the disclosure during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
“Peter Obi has been part of the coalition from day one. He has attended almost every meeting of the coalition,” Abdullahi stated.
He explained that Obi’s absence as a card-carrying member of the ADC was a deliberate decision to allow him complete ongoing electoral processes within the Labour Party.
“The reason Peter Obi has not come into the ADC as a card-carrying member was because he asked for leave to allow him to complete the election that his people were involved in the Labour Party. The same thing applied to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. They were allowed by the leadership to complete the election processes they started in their respective parties before joining the ADC,” Abdullahi said.
His comments come amid speculations that Obi may be considering a return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Earlier in the week, a former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, had hinted that Obi would return to the PDP to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Sheriff argued that Obi’s political ambition aligns with a PDP comeback, especially with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also a key figure in the coalition and eyeing another shot at the presidency.
“Atiku has been the vice president of Nigeria. So for him, it’s president or nothing. Peter Obi ran under the Labour Party. His ambition is to become President,” Sheriff said, claiming that Obi’s return to the PDP was imminent.
However, Abdullahi dismissed speculations suggesting that the coalition was an Atiku-driven project or a platform to relaunch the former vice president’s presidential ambition.
“What I know for a fact is that Peter Obi is in the coalition. I also know for a fact that this is not an Atiku coalition. Like I have said repeatedly, the ADC is not built on anybody’s ambition,” he said.
He added, “What is at stake is much bigger than any individual. I am 56; who says I don’t want to be president?”
On July 1, prominent political figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf Aregbesola, and others, officially adopted the ADC as the coalition’s platform, vowing to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
