Julius Abure, the former National Chairman of the Labour Party, has signalled that he could work with either President Bola Tinubu or former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election, but has ruled out supporting Peter Obi.
Abure, who previously headed the Labour Party, said his political direction would become clearer after the Supreme Court settles the ongoing dispute over the party’s leadership. He explained that his eventual choice would also depend on shared political interests, ideological compatibility and the candidate’s acceptability.
He also declared his intention to mobilise his supporters against Obi, accusing the former Anambra State governor of failing to preserve the political influence and widespread goodwill that surrounded his 2023 presidential campaign.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress and Obi’s camp, however, dismissed Abure’s comments, maintaining that they had moved beyond their disagreements with the former LP chairman and were focused on the 2027 election.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Abure said he would consult his followers and decide on a preferred candidate if the Supreme Court failed to deliver its judgment on the Labour Party leadership dispute before the end of November.
Asked about his possible choice among Tinubu, Atiku and Obi, he said, “As for me, we are waiting for the Supreme Court to decide our case, and if the judgment is not coming before the end of this November, we will rationalise the offer of whoever wants our support.
“However, it must tally with our interest and ideology, and he must be a sellable candidate. Once these are settled, our faces will be everywhere. I am talking about the same faces that took Peter Obi everywhere in 2023.”
He added, “We are open to working with any of the major candidates, but as former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, said, ‘I know whom I will not hand over to. But I don’t know who I will hand over to.’ So, similarly, I am very sure that I wouldn’t support Peter Obi for the 2027 general election. But I am open to an alignment with others.”
The former party chairman said Obi’s membership of the NDC had excluded the party from his list of potential political allies. He also disclosed that he had yet to begin negotiations with any presidential candidate.
“Yes, obviously the NDC is not included. I don’t see any reason to support Peter Obi again. I will not. And I am saying this with conviction and without any fear of contradiction. However, as of now, I am not in talks with any candidate yet. This is because it’s not just about me. It’s also about my followers and their interests,” he said.
Abure maintained that many of his supporters remained loyal to the Labour Party faction under his leadership, despite the departure of some members to other political platforms.
He accused Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti of undermining the party’s leadership, alleging that members of his faction had been removed from positions across the ward, state and national levels.
“Right now, they are standing by the structure of the party, the same one Otti and the illegal leadership he forced on the Labour Party sacked from wards, states to national level. What these people did to this party was a big disservice. But we know that I was their target,” Abure said.
The disagreement between Abure and Obi emerged during the prolonged struggle over control of the Labour Party, particularly disputes surrounding its national convention and the composition of its leadership.
Abure accused Obi and Otti of deepening the crisis by establishing a parallel National Working Committee in Owerri. However, supporters of the former LP presidential candidate argued that Abure had breached an earlier agreement to organise an inclusive convention, beginning with ward and state congresses before the national convention.
The dispute widened the division between both camps, eventually prompting Obi to distance himself from the Labour Party leadership and pursue his political ambition under another platform.
Abure described the development as evidence of what he considered Obi’s leadership shortcomings, questioning his ability to govern Nigeria after failing to maintain unity within a political party.
“Obi’s behaviour in the Labour Party is now what people are using to assess if he can truly lead the country. This is because if you can’t lead a micro, there is no way you can lead a macro,” he said.
He also criticised Obi’s movement from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress and subsequently the NDC, alleging that the former governor had expected to encounter a similar leadership struggle in the ADC.
According to Abure, Obi eventually left the ADC after realising that he might not achieve his political objectives within the party. He added that some of Obi’s supporters remained with the ADC, while others followed him to the NDC.
Asked whether Obi would enjoy the same level of independence he allegedly had under his leadership in the Labour Party, Abure said the situation in the NDC was different, insisting that its national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, remained firmly in control.
“No way! Let Obi compare the freedom and leverage he enjoyed under our leadership to what he is experiencing in the NDC; he already knows the difference. You can see that Senator Dickson is fully in charge and he’s not giving up the party’s leadership,” he said.
Abure added that Dickson had learnt from the Labour Party crisis and was determined to prevent a similar leadership dispute from occurring in the NDC.
Assessing Obi’s prospects in the 2027 presidential election, Abure predicted that the former governor would perform below his 2023 electoral record.
“Let me say clearly that Obi will not record the successes he recorded in the 2023 general election. That is because he has squandered his goodwill, human capital, resources, and mismanaged all the gains he had in 2023,” he said.
He argued that Obi’s departure from the Labour Party had weakened his political organisation, claiming that he had lost the grassroots network and campaign machinery that helped him secure more than six million votes in the 2023 election.
Reacting to Abure’s comments, the spokesperson for the NDC Presidential Campaign Council, Constance Ikokwu, said the party was concentrating on national issues and preparations for the next election.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Ikokwu said Obi was occupied with campaign activities and efforts to secure victory in 2027.
She said, “Mr Peter Obi is fully occupied with the campaign trail, focused on the important task of leading a national effort towards the 2027 presidential contest, an election that offers Nigerians an opportunity to rescue the country and change its direction.
“In the light of that, all we can say is good luck to Mr Julius Abure in his new ventures.”
Obi’s media aide, Idris Zekeri, also dismissed the significance of Abure’s comments, saying the campaign had moved on from its disagreements with the former Labour Party chairman.
“We no longer talk about Abure. We have moved on from them. We have an election less than 70 days away, and then we are campaigning,” Zekeri said.
He urged Nigerians who believed in equity, justice, fairness, competence, compassion and effective leadership to support Obi, whom he described as the candidate best suited to lead the country.
Zekeri acknowledged that Obi would not receive the backing of every Nigerian, noting that differing political choices were part of the democratic process.
He further suggested that Abure’s opposition to Obi stemmed from personal grievances rather than concerns about the national interest.
“The individual you mentioned (Abure) has now said he doesn’t want to support Obi, and his reason for that was that he has an axe to grind. I think he should be asking himself why he should place his personal sentiment and belief above national interest. But that is up to him.
“However, we are not discussing him. He is not critical to what we are doing at this time,” he added.
