Former Anambra governor, Peter Obi, has insisted that he is still a member of Labour Party on which platform he contested the 2023 presidential election, though he subscribes to the African Democratic Congress, ADC for the 2027 election.
Obi’s assertion obviously followed recent calls by key ADC leaders that he should made up his mind and formally joined the coalition ahead of the 2027 election.
Former President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai have recently challenged others still dilly-dallying about their membership of ADC to make up their minds if they want to be part of the coalition.
They threw the challenge after they also formally registered as member of the party.
No Sitting On The Fence
Speaking during his recent meeting with state chairpersons of ADC, from the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT at his residence in Abuja, Atiku expressed joy that he has now formally registered as a member of the party.
I emphasised that there is no time to waste in our rescue mission and encouraged other members and leaders of the coalition to register with the ADC formally. There can be no sitting on the fence,” the former Vice President said.
Also, El-Rufai had frontally challenged Obi to formally register as a member of APC after he recently formally joined the party. El-Rufai had revealed in an interview after he registered with ADC that the agreement he had with Obi was that they will both formally register as members of ADC after the conclusion of the by-elections across the country.
He said with the conclusion of the by-elections, Obi has no reason to continue to hold back on dumping his Labour Party for ADC.
I Need To Know The Fundamentals
But speaking in a podcast interview by ‘Advocacy for Good Governance’ on Wednesday, Peter Obi insisted that he is still a member of Labour Party while accusing the ADC of lacking a clear direction’.
Today, I’m a member of the Labour Party, okay, and I subscribe to the ADC coalition for the 2027 election, and I believe in it, Obi said.
He also added that he needed to know the fundamentals that all members must agree to’ and respect.
But, in all this, there are still some lines that we need to respect, where things must be done properly, where we must sit down and talk about where we’re driving the country to.
Obi, who has repeatedly asserted that he will contest the 2027 presidency also said the issue of rotation of offices, including the presidency, must be sorted out before he can fully join the ADC
Today, we have what we can say are unsigned agreements about the presidency, unsigned agreements about rotation of offices – which is why if you say this person will come from here and this person will come from there, all those things need to be organised. The reason it needs to be organised is: if you don’t do it, you create confusion for the future, he said.
Peter Obi, however, said he has confidence in members of the party like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Senate President David Mark, who are leading the coalition process.
I respect all those who are leaders there. Of course, our chairman, David Mark, is one of those people I respect.
I believe he has the political sagacity to lead the party and so many others we have there. People like my own leader, Atiku, someone I have all my respect for, who believes in the good of Nigeria and wants the best for Nigeria and all that.
Obi however said he is not desperate to be president, but “desperate to see Nigeria work,” when asked if he will remain in ADC if he joined the party and was denied the presidential ticket.
Obi’s interview followed recent assertions by Dele Momodu, a media entrepreneur and associate of Atiku that he is being considered as the running mate to the former Vice President in the 2027 election.
Atiku and former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi have declared their interest in the 2027 president ticket of ADC.
Analysts say Obi’s reluctance to formally joined the ADC was based on his fears that he may be unable to contest against Atiku for the presidential ticket of the party.
