The Obidient Movement has maintained that the 2027 presidential election should produce a candidate from the South, insisting that former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, remains best positioned to complete what it described as the region’s “remaining term.”
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, stated this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general election.
Tanko’s remarks came on the same day Obi’s 2023 running mate, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidency at a rally held on Wednesday at the Labour Party national secretariat in Abuja.
Baba-Ahmed’s declaration followed closely on the heels of Obi’s recent exit from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a development that has sparked intense debate over the future of the LP and the direction of the opposition ahead of 2027.
At the rally, Baba-Ahmed, flanked by the embattled LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, stressed that his presidential ambition was neither reactionary nor dependent on Obi’s political decisions, noting that his aspiration predated the 2023 election.
Downplaying issues of religion and ethnicity, the former senator, a northern Muslim, argued that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees every qualified citizen the right to seek elective office.
Reacting to the development, Tanko, a close ally of Obi, said the Obidient Movement was tired of suggestions that Obi should step aside or defer his ambition, insisting that its position was anchored on democratic principles and equity.
“We are democrats. We believe it is the turn of the South, and Obi will complete the remaining term of the South. That is our position,” Tanko said.
His comments come as opposition politics enters a tense phase, with several heavyweight contenders openly vying for the ADC presidential ticket, raising concerns over zoning, consensus-building, and internal cohesion within the emerging opposition bloc.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is also seeking the ADC ticket, had on Tuesday vowed not to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, dismissing calls for him to step down as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy. Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, made the declaration in a statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe.
Speaking further at his declaration, Baba-Ahmed reminded party members that his presidential ambition existed long before he accepted to run as Obi’s running mate in 2023.
“I have made myself available to contest for the office in 2027. I am not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes,” he said.
“Before His Excellency Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I had already aspired to contest. The records are there.”
The former lawmaker recalled contesting in the PDP presidential primaries in 2018, noting that he later chose to align with Obi in 2023 in the interest of national unity.
“In October 2018, I participated in the PDP primaries in Port Harcourt. I even walked to Obi to ask for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman,” Baba-Ahmed said.
“I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to elect Peter Obi in 2023, and that was why I decided to flow with it.”
Addressing concerns about religion and ethnicity, he reiterated that the constitution permits any qualified Nigerian to seek elective office.
“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. Yes, I am Hausa. But I am first a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest. I am doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed, however, assured that he would strictly adhere to party and electoral guidelines, noting that he would make no further moves until the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) releases its timetable.
Reacting to Baba-Ahmed’s declaration, LP National Chairman Julius Abure commended him for remaining in the party despite Obi’s exit, describing the move as evidence that the party remains intact.
Abure disclosed that the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, had also chosen to remain in the party, noting that Otti joined the LP before Obi and had publicly ruled out defecting.
He further revealed that Baba-Ahmed personally proposed a unity meeting for party members and leaders.
“On the night Peter Obi defected, I received a call from our vice-presidential candidate, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed, who told me he was not leaving the party,” Abure said.
“He suggested we hold a meeting to bring members together. He even offered to foot the bill for a meeting at the Transcorp Hilton, but I advised that we hold it at the party secretariat so that ordinary members—the real owners of the party—could attend, and he agreed.”
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