Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has confirmed his intention to contest the 2027 general election under the LP banner. In a seven-minute, sixteen-second video shared on the party’s WhatsApp platform, Obi addressed a group of young supporters, reaffirming his commitment to the party amid speculation about potential opposition coalitions. “I will still continue to run in the Labour Party. I’m a member of the Labour Party,” he stated, dispelling rumours of a defection.
Obi attributed the ongoing internal conflicts within both the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to government interference. “What is happening in the Labour Party and the PDP is caused by the government. Quote me anywhere”. He recalled an earlier experience during President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration when he personally intervened to resolve disputes within his party by appealing to the then-INEC Chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu. “We had a problem in our party before, in the past. Yar’Adua was the president. I went to him then; he called the INEC Chairman and told him I don’t want any problem in any party. We were forced to fix it,”
Obi emphasized that the problems currently affecting political parties are deliberate disruptions caused by the political system, which he intends to reform if given the opportunity. In his words: “These are deliberate problems caused by the system. These are some of the things I want to clean up if I have the opportunity. Parties will function very well because you can’t have a system working without a strong opposition.”
Obi urged Nigerian voters to ensure their votes are counted, emphasizing that they, not political parties, hold the ultimate authority on vote integrity. He acknowledged that there will be resistive effort to change but encouraged voters to persevere. Obi also suggested a retirement age for politicians, stating that he wouldn’t like to seek office beyond age 65, which he will be by 2027.
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