Presidency, Atiku, Labour Party React As Obi Joins African Democratic Congress

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has finally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), declaring that the opposition coalition platform will resist attempts at rigging the 2027 elections.

Speaking at an event in Enugu on Wednesday, where he officially announced his defection to the ADC, Obi also emphasised the need to reclaim Nigeria from what he described as a small group of opportunists who had captured the corridors of power and return it to its rightful owners – the Nigerian people.

Obi’s decision to finally join the ADC attracted reactions from his former party, the Labour Party, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

While the Labour Party said it regrets giving Obi its platform in 2023, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Obi still feels bitter after losing the 2023 election. Also, the Lagos State chapter of the APC described the move as politically calculated risk rather than a genuine ideological realignment.

On the other hand, Atiku said Obi – his presidential running mate in 2019 and opponent in 2023 – joining the ADC was a significant moment in the history of political coalitions in the country.

Similarly, the ADC said Obi’s move was further evidence that the party was  getting stronger.

Obi’s journey to ADC

The ADC was formally adopted as the platform of choice by the coalition of top opposition politicians in July last year. The coalition, which is bent on defeating APC President Bola Tinubu in 2027, has former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Senator David Mark, who is also ADC National Chairman; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Transport Minister, Chibuike Amaechi; former Interior Minister and ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola; and former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal.

Others are former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; former Imo State governor, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; former APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, among others.

Obi’s formal alignment with the ADC had been hazy, especially after he, in an interview early last month, raised concerns about some unaddressed issues within the party, including the zoning of offices.

Moreover, his 2023 running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, had at the last NEC meeting of the Labour Party maintained that Obi was still a member of the Labour Party.

The Labour Party has been locked in a leadership crisis since the 2023 election, with Obi aligning with the Senator Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee against the Julius Abure-led faction.

Obi urges support for ADC

He urged the Obidient Movement, political leaders and members of opposition parties across the country to join the broad national coalition under the ADC, led by Senator David Mark.

Obi said what has remained most painful is that many of those who once benefited from democratic governance have now become accessories to a stolen mandate, shamelessly celebrating electoral injustice in public and working hard to destroy democracy through coercion, manipulation and outright gangsterism, particularly against opposition parties.