Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has dismissed claims that the recent defections of some South-East governors and lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress (APC) will help the ruling party capture the region ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Thursday, Obi said Nigeria operates a democracy, not a military regime where people or states can be “captured.”
According to him, “The people will ultimately decide where to go, not governors or senators. No party will capture or win any state just because it has a governor.”
While reacting to the defection of Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, and the alleged plan by the APC to secure the South-East for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, Obi stated the governor’s decision must be taken based on his political calculations.
He said, “Peter Mbah is a good friend of mine. And I believe that as governor, he must have taken his decision based on his own political views and calculations.
“As for the alleged plot to capture the South-East, we are not in a military time when you capture people. You are a leader; you tend to do the right things for them to follow you. So I don’t think anybody is capturing anywhere. The government needs to do more if it wants the people to support it.”
Recall that Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, along with members of the State House of Assembly, resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday barely 24 hours after Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, also defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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