The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, says he decided to join the opposition coalition because there was a need to “build bridges to dismantle” structures of poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.
“No one group can change Nigeria alone. To dismantle the structures that keep our people in poverty and insecurity, we must build bridges, not walls even when those bridges are uneasy,” Mr Obi wrote on his X handle on Thursday.
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The LP candidate, who came third in the 2023 general election, said his decision to join the coalition was based on the need for Nigeria’s progress.
“This decision was not made lightly. It comes from deep reflection on where we are as a country and what must be done to move forward,” he said.
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Coalition will ‘save’ Nigeria
Mr Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, said the coalition would offer Nigerians “a competent, capable, and compassionate” leadership.
“Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 General Elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets a competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first,” the former governor said.
Background
On Wednesday, the National Opposition Coalition Group adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the 2027 general election.
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The 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has been rooting for the coalition alongside other political figures to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the forthcoming election.
Apart from Atiku, other promoters of the coalition include former Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Gabriel Suswam of Benue, and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State.
The group also appointed a former Senate President, David Mark, and a former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, as the ADC interim national chairman and secretary, respectively.
Meanwhile, unlike Mr Mark and others, Mr Obi was yet to resign membership of his party.
