The immediate-past national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has said Peter Obi, now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has squandered the goodwill and political structure that delivered his strong performance in the 2023 general election.
Abure vowed not to support Obi in the 2027 polls and said he could back either President Bola Tinubu or former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, depending on the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case on the Labour Party leadership and other political considerations.
“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,” Abure said.
“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.”
Abure ruled out any partnership with the NDC because of Obi’s presence in the party.
“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,” he said.
He accused Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti of doing a “great disservice” to the Labour Party by fuelling a leadership crisis. Abure also claimed Obi no longer enjoys the freedom he had in the Labour Party, noting that NDC national leader Senator Seriake Dickson maintains tight control of the party.
“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,” Abure said.
