By Lanre Oloyede
There are speculations that the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 election, Peter Obi , will dump the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, for another party ahead of the 2027 election.
This speculation was fueled by an activist and leader of the South-South Emerging Leaders’ Forum, Benjamin Kolowei, in a statement on Thursday.
This comes as the Kolowei-led forum warned Peter Obi to desist from threatening the recent ADC to do his bidding.
According to him, if Obi will continue to blackmail the coalition to zone the presidential ticket to the South, the Northern region too should start agitation to have it so as to complete the 18 years Southern Nigeria has held sway in the presidency.
He advised Obi to be open to a transparent presidential primary at ADC if he wants to pull weight in 2027.
“We note that Mr. Peter Obi and his Obedient Movement, in recent times, have resorted to threatening and blackmailing the leadership of the coalition. We make bold to tell the former Anambra governor that such a strategy will not work; in fact, it has failed woefully.
“Record has shown that Mr. Obi has a history of running away from primary elections, which is a major aspect of democratic culture. If Mr. Obi claims to be a democrat, why is he always avoiding primary elections? Why is he looking for a free presidential ticket? He did that as a governor, and as recently as 2023, Mr. Obi abandoned PDP when it was time for the primary election.
“As a forum of professionals and emerging leaders, we will not fold our hands and tolerate Peter Obi frustrating the ongoing arrangements to rescue our nation and have a credible alternative to the APC.
“We hereby call on Mr. Peter Obi to stop his pretentious lifestyle as if he is a saint or the only messiah Nigeria is waiting for. If Mr. Obi wants to participate in a democratic contest, he should respect the rules of the game. Though he has never fought or contributed to the development of the democratic process in Nigeria, so he does not know what it takes.
“Obi and his Obidients should learn early that democracy is about contest, not about a free lunch or a free ticket. It is not about blackmail.
