Coalition: Obi has our backing – Otti/Usman-led LP

The National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of the Labour Party (LP) said on Monday that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, had the full backing of the camp to participate in the ongoing negotiations among some political parties to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 polls.

The NCC, which is headed by a former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, is the faction of the LP to which Obi and the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, belong.

The NCC’s declaration of support for Obi came barely hours after the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, led by Mr Julius Abure, took a different position, stating that Obi did not get the approval of the party to participate in any coalition meeting.

The faction was also emphatic in saying that it did not support any coalition talks, adding that any move to drag the LP into such an arrangement would be an effort in futility.

Regarding the ticket of the party, the Abure-led camp clarified that Obi would not be an automatic candidate, as it was thrown open to all Nigerians to contest.

“First, while we are not opposed to anybody running under the platform of the Labour Party in the 2027 general election, we need to make it categorically clear that the party has a long standing rule on how its candidates shall emerge and automatic ticket is not one of the routes,” the National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, had said.

The discordant tunes from the two camps came about 48 hours after Obi himself had told a group of young voters that he would contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the LP.

“I will still continue to run in the Labour Party. I’m a member of the Labour Party,” he said while responding to a question.

Referring to Abure and those in his camp as “former members” of the party, the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to Usman, Mr Ken Eluma Asogwa, in a statement, said the NCC “expressly approved and endorsed Peter Obi’s participation in the ongoing patriotic convergence of well-meaning Nigerians.”

It noted that the aim of the talks, which was to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, had the total backing of the NCC.

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The camp added, “It is worth reiterating that Obi has consistently maintained that his interest lies solely in a coalition focused on eradicating hunger, insecurity, and poor governance – a vision that aligns squarely with the founding principles and aspirations of the Labour Party.

“It is therefore baffling that individuals who have been shown the exit door for their anti-party activities now seek to question a move so clearly rooted in national interest.

“One is left wondering whose agenda Julius Abure and his cohorts have truly been advancing. Is it that they disagree with Obi and the Labour Party that Nigeria is presently facing an unprecedented crisis requiring collective action to salvage?

“While the Labour Party wholeheartedly welcomes the coalition movement driven by the Nigerian people, we also reaffirm Peter Obi’s unequivocal right to contest the 2027 elections under the Labour Party platform – should the ongoing coalition efforts fail to materialise.”

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