The spokesperson of the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has clarified why Labour Party's 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is yet to become a card-carrying member of the ADC despite his active participation in the coalition.
Speaking on Channels Television's Politics Today on Wednesday, Abdullahi explained that Obi had requested to remain within the Labour Party (LP) temporarily in order to complete election-related processes involving his loyalists within the party.
"Peter Obi has been part of the coalition from day one. Peter Obi has attended almost every meeting of the coalition," Abdullahi said.
"The reason Peter Obi has not come into the ADC as a card-carrying member was because he asked for leave to allow him to complete the election that his people were involved in the Labour Party -- the same thing applied to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai -- and they were allowed by the leadership to complete the election processes that they started in their respective parties before they come into the ADC," he added.
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Obi's delayed official crossover comes amid speculation over his political future ahead of the 2027 general elections. On Monday, former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, suggested that Obi might return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform on which he contested as vice-presidential candidate in 2019.
Sheriff said Obi's presidential ambition might be better served under the PDP, especially if former Vice President Atiku Abubakar runs again in 2027.
"Atiku has been the vice president of Nigeria. So for him, (it is) president or nothing. Peter Obi ran under the Labour Party. His ambition is to become President," Sheriff stated.
"Information available to me is that any moment from now, Obi would go back to the PDP and run as a presidential candidate under the PDP," he added.
