The Obidients Movement has expressed readiness to move with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to any political platform he chooses ahead of the 2027 election.
The National Coordinator of the movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.
Tanko said it was obvious Nigeria is in dire need of rescue and they are more than convinced only Obi can pull the country out of its current economic misery.
He said, “The Obidient Movement has resolved that anywhere His Excellency Peter Obi is going, we will follow him. This is because he is the person we believe in and he is the leader of the Obidient Movement.
“So, when he says this is the best way to go, the Obidient Movement will follow him as long as we continue to believe he will lead us to the destination.
“And when we eventually make it to Aso Villa, the work to put the country back in the right direction will begin in earnest. So, we will follow him all the way.”
With the support of his Obidient Movement, Obi achieved a remarkable feat on the platform of the Labour Party in 2023, garnering over six million votes.
The Obidient Movement’s avowed loyalty to Obi comes in the wake of internal crises within the LP and the talk of an inter-party coalition to oust President Bola Tinubu from power in 2027.
Similarly, on Sunday, LP Deputy National Chairman Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, appealed to the former Anambra governor to remain in the LP and ignore all entreaties to return to the Peoples Democratic Party, his former political platform.
Olorunfemi was reacting to the recent call by a former PDP Chairman in Anambra State, Dan Ulasi, for his party to woo Oɓi from the crisis-ridden LP.
In the 2019 election, Obi ran on the PDP platform as running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
But they lost to the eventual winner, former President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.
Following internal strife over the choice of candidates for the 2023 presidential election, Obi abandoned the PDP for the Labour Party.
Although not many people gave him a chance, Obi gave Atiku and the winner, President Bola Tinubu a run for their money but eventually came third.
However, amid talks around opposition to the possible merger and repositioning of the PDP, there has been pressure on Obi to return to his old party to boost his chances in the 2027 election.
Ulasi also expressed conviction Obi will prove a better choice if the PDP is really ready to rebuild and consider its future.
Another PDP chieftain, Segun Sowunmi, backed the move in a televised interview last Thursday.
Sowunmi emphasised that Obi’s return to his former party would brighten the chances of the PDP in 2027.
But Olorunfemi kicked, warning that Obi should be wary of such entreaties.
He said, “Now that he has contested and seen the LP force, if he decides to go to another political party, it will speak volumes of his intention; it will tell whether he truly believed in the LP ideology before coming to run or he just used the opportunity of the platform.
“So, it will now be left for Nigerians to decide whether Obi, who got millions of votes under the Labour Party, can still be voted for under PDP or another party.
“He (Obi) must use his tongue to count his teeth. If I were him, what I would be doing now is working to restore peace in the Labour Party and rebuild it
“He should find a way to resolve the issues in the party and remain on the platform. He should stay and resolve the crises he and others created in LP.
“Moving around will portray him as an opportunistic politician not different from these politicians jumping here and there,” he warned.(punch)
