…Tinubu’s aide fires back
Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, yesterday formally aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alongside other prominent political leaders from the South-East region, in a move that is already reshaping the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
The declaration was made in Enugu, Enugu State capital, where the leaders said their decision followed months of consultations within the zone and across the country. They explained that the ADC platform would serve as a rallying point for opposition forces seeking to “rescue Nigeria from the poor governance of the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.
The development appears to give fresh momentum to speculations over Obi’s next political move ahead of 2027. Only hours earlier, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, had said Nigerians were eagerly awaiting Obi’s announcement on the party he would contest under, describing the former Anambra State governor as a “valuable asset” desired across Nigeria and beyond.
Speaking during a television interview, Tanko noted that Obi had been working closely with a broad opposition coalition which had already crystallised into a political party. He said Obi’s eventual declaration would be welcomed by supporters, stressing that the former LP candidate was a team player committed to freeing Nigeria from what he described as years of hardship caused by leaders with poor intentions.
“Whenever he makes his pronouncement, it is going to be something everybody will be happy about,” Tanko said, adding that Obi would speak for himself “very soon”.
However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the ruling party. President Bola Tinubu’s Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, reacted yesterday by attacking both Obi and the ADC, describing the party as a “structure of criminality”.
In a post on X, Bwala accused an unnamed ‘nomadic politician’ of moving from party to party, listing a trajectory from PDP to APGA, back to PDP, then LP, and now ADC. He claimed such political movement would only end in the individual playing ‘second fiddle, or campaign DG’, dismissing the ADC as an unserious platform.
Despite the criticism from the Presidency, Obi’s declaration with South-East leaders has heightened political tension and reinforced indications that opposition realignments are gathering pace ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
